More consumers are making purchases from their tablets, according to a new study from Javelin Strategy & Research.
In 2013, tablets accounted for $28.7 billion in mobile commerce. This exceeds the $27.9 billion in mobile commerce payments made from phones and the $3.1 billion in proximity payments, which Javelin defines as wireless, bar code or cloud-based mobile payments made in stores.
Commerce generated through tablets has risen because the number of consumers who own a mobile device has doubled from 2012 to 2013, the Pleasanton, Calif.-based research firm said. As tablet ownership rates continue to grow, the devices are expected to be an increasingly dominant purchase channel.
"Mobile consumer purchasing habits are evolving from purely app- or browser-based purchasing toward both methods in tandem," says Mary Monahan, executive vice president and research director of mobile at Javelin Strategy & Research, in a Feb. 12 press release. "While functionality should differ between the two methods, it is also critical for vendors to ensure that the user experience is similar for both methods so that crossover is frictionless."
