Highlights. Smartphone users now make up 54.7% of global web traffic and 45.5% of U.S. web traffic.
- Worldwide mobile e-commerce sales totaled an estimated $4.34 trillion in 2023; projections indicate that mobile e-commerce sales will surpass $7.08 trillion in 2027.
- Globally, 72% of e-commerce sales come from mobile devices; projections indicate the mobile e-commerce share will near 88% in 2027.
- 311.8 million Americans currently use smartphones; that number is expected to grow to 328.2 million in 2027.
- 183.2 million American adults shop using a mobile device; projections indicate mobile buyers will grow to 200 million in 2027.
- U.S. mobile retail shoppers spent an estimated $491.1 billion in 2023, up 13.8% year-over-year (YoY).
Mobile eCommerce Revenue Statistics
Trends indicate that revenue from mobile e-commerce will continue to grow not only in value but in its share of e-commerce revenue.
- In 2023, worldwide mobile e-commerce sales revenue increased 13.4% YoY to $4.337 trillion.
- Revenue from mobile e-commerce totaled $3.824 trillion in 2022.
- From 2020 to 2023, U.S. mobile e-commerce sales represented an estimated 6.11% of all retail sales (in-store and online).
- U.S. e-commerce sales represented 16.3% of all retail sales from 2020 to 2023.
- U.S. retail sales, both online and in-store, totaled $7.243 trillion in 2023, up 2.08% YoY.
Mobile eCommerce U.S. Statistics
American mobile retail e-commerce growth in 2023 surpassed global mobile retail sales growth by 2.79%.
- 61% of American adults believe that mobile shopping capability is essential for online shopping convenience.
- 35.2% of Americans make a retail purchase through their smartphone on a weekly basis.
- An American is 17.7% more likely than the average global consumer to make a weekly retail purchase via smartphone.
- 77% of U.S. online shopping traffic (not to be confused with general web traffic) is on mobile devices; 65% of U.S. online retail orders originate from mobile devices.
- 76% of U.S. adults use a smartphone to shop or buy online; 32% do so on a weekly basis (or more often).
- Compared to desktop or laptop computers, U.S. online shoppers are 10.1% more likely to use smartphones.
- Americans are 138% more likely to shop using a smartphone than a tablet.
- 98.7% of U.S. mobile shopping traffic comes from smartphones.
- 97.0% of U.S. retail mobile orders are made via smartphone.
Mobile eCommerce App U.S. Statistics
The top shopping apps among 35- to 44-year-olds and users aged 45 years and older are Amazon and Walmart, respectively.
- The average U.S. smartphone shopper spends 14 hours and seven (7) minutes per year browsing mobile shopping apps.
- 50% of U.S. online consumers regularly use mobile shopping apps to browse and purchase.
- Americans spent 2.8 billion hours on shopping apps in 2022, roughly the same amount of time spent in 2021.
- Americans spent 31.6% more time on mobile shopping apps in 2020 (2.5 billion hours) than they did in 2019 (1.9 billion hours).
- Shoppers using their mobile phones spend an average of $103.30 per order, 35.1% less than on desktops or laptops.
- Consumers consider mobile commerce apps that feature loyalty programs and exclusive offers the most valuable at 63.4% and 62.5%, respectively.
- The most downloaded shopping application in the U.S. is Temu with 122.5 million downloads.
- Shien is the second-most downloaded shopping app with 36.5 million U.S. downloads.
- Amazon and Walmart are the next most popular with 23.8 million and 22.72 million U.S. downloads, respectively.
| Company | iOS Downloads (in millions | Android Downloads (in millions) |
| Temu | 70.06 | 52.44 |
| Shein | 20.92 | 15.59 |
| Amazon | 17.37 | 6.44 |
| Walmart | 14.46 | 8.26 |
| Nike | 8.32 | 3.12 |
| Etsy | 7.51 | 3.60 |
| Target | 7.84 | 3.08 |
| eBay | 6.31 | 3.22 |
| OfferUp | 5.62 | 3.62 |
| Alibaba | 5.43 | 3.76 |
Mobile Shopping App Use Statistics
88% of American consumers have at least one shopping app downloaded on their smartphone.
- 50% of consumers have more than four (4) shopping apps on their smartphone; 9% have over ten (10) shopping apps.
- 96% of 18- to 44-year-olds have at least one mobile shopping app on their phones; 61% have more than four shopping apps.
- 75% of consumers over 45 years old have at least one mobile shopping app; 39% have more than four.
- 10% of regular mobile shoppers have at least five (5) e-commerce applications downloaded on their phones
- 15% of consumers using mobile shopping apps use them daily.
- 37% of consumers using mobile shopping apps use them a few times a week; 26% use shopping apps a few times per month.
Mobile App vs. Mobile Web eCommerce
85% of U.S. mobile shoppers prefer to use apps as opposed to mobile websites.
- 31% of consumers prefer shopping through an ecommerce app over shopping in-store or through a desktop or mobile website.
- 21% of mobile shoppers complete most of their e-commerce purchases through mobile apps; 17% use mobile web stores the most.
- 11% of mobile shoppers enjoy shopping through e-commerce apps the most, a 37.5% higher rate than mobile websites.
- Only 8% of mobile shoppers prefer shopping through mobile websites, an 83.3% lower rate than those who prefer shopping on their computers.
- 60% of mobile shoppers prefer apps over mobile websites because they provide a better user experience.
- 51% of mobile shoppers prefer apps over mobile websites because they provide better promotions or discounts; 30% prefer shopping in apps because they offer access to exclusive products.
- 30% of mobile shoppers prefer shopping via mobile apps because they provide better loyalty programs; 23% prefer shopping apps for better customer service.
- 22% of mobile e-commerce consumers say mobile apps provide the most convenient shopping experience.
- Only 12% of mobile shoppers say mobile websites are the most convenient way to shop.
Mobile eCommerce Tablet U.S. Statistics
Among mobile shoppers, tablets are less popular than smartphones.
- 28% of U.S. adults use a tablet for online shopping; 7% use a tablet for online shopping at least once per week.
- Compared to desktop or laptop computers, U.S. online shoppers are 59.4% less likely to use tablets.
- 28% of Americans use tablets to shop online.
- eCommerce shoppers on tablets spend an average of $104.25 per order, 34.5% less than on computers.
- 1.28% of U.S. mobile shopping traffic comes from tablets.
- 2.99% of U.S. retail mobile orders are made via tablet.
Mobile eCommerce Conversion Rates
Among mobile shoppers, 61% complete the majority of their online purchases on a desktop or laptop computer.
- Only 16% of e-commerce conversions come from shoppers on mobile devices.
- The average eCommerce conversion rate on mobile phones is 2.3%, 17.9% lower than on desktops.
- The conversion rate on tablets is 3.1%, 10.7% higher than on computers.
- The add-to-cart rate for smartphone e-commerce is 12.2%, 27.1% higher than on desktop.
- The add-to-cart rate for tablet e-commerce is 11.7%, 21.9% higher than on desktop.
- Abandoned cart rates are highest on mobile phones at 80.2%, 14.6% higher than on desktops.
- The cart abandonment rate for tablet users is 72.3%, 3.29% higher than for desktop users.
- 64.9% of e-commerce site traffic comes from consumers using mobile phones.
- Only 2.46% of e-commerce site traffic comes from tablet users.
- Smartphone users view an average of five (5) pages on e-commerce websites per visit, 16.3% more than desktop users.
- Tablet users view an average of 6.1 e-commerce site pages, 14.9% more than on desktop.
Mobile Payment App Statistics
31% of U.S. adults have used mobile payment methods for online shopping.
- Among adults who prefer shopping online to shopping in stores, 45% have used mobile payment methods for online shopping.
- 36% of U.S. consumers who use mobile wallets have used the PayPal app to make online purchases.
- 18% of mobile wallet users make online purchases with Apple Pay; 15% use the Venmo app.
- 9% of mobile wallet users make e-commerce purchases using Google Wallet; 5% use Samsung Pay.
Mobile eCommerce Consumer Behavior
76% of mobile shoppers prefer shopping on their smartphones because it saves time.
- 29% of people who shop on their smartphones do so because it gives them something to do; 27% find it enjoyable.
- 22% of mobile shoppers visit e-commerce sites on their smartphones after receiving an email or viewing social media from the brand.
- 58% of consumers are looking for something specific but are also browsing when shopping on a mobile device.
- 22% of mobile shoppers are just browsing while 20% need something specific and want to buy it now.
- Only 30% of mobile shoppers agree that the e-commerce website experience becomes increasingly relevant as they browse.
- 5% of mobile shoppers browse e-commerce sites several times each day.
- Only 19% of mobile shoppers prefer shopping on their smartphone over a desktop computer.
Mobile eCommerce International Statistics
Mobile shopping as a share of e-commerce sales is likely to grow in emerging markets as phone ownership increases.
- Globally, consumers spent 108 billion hours on shopping apps in 2022, up 9.1% YoY.
- 80% of worldwide consumers have visited a retailer’s website on their smartphone while shopping in-store; 74% have used a retailer’s mobile app in-store.
- 29.9% of the world’s online shoppers make a purchase on their smartphones at least once per week.
- South Korean internet users are the most likely (44.4%) to make weekly retail purchases via mobile phone.
- South Korean internet users are 48.5% more likely than global consumers to make at least one retail purchase per week via smartphone.
- 35.3% of internet users in Mexico make weekly mobile e-commerce purchases, an 18.1% higher rate than global consumers on average.
- 33.7% of Chinese internet users make weekly mobile e-commerce purchases, a 12.7% higher rate than global consumers on average.
- 32.5% of internet users in the United Kingdom make weekly mobile e-commerce purchases, an 8.70% higher rate than global consumers on average.
- 29.7% of Canadian internet users make weekly mobile e-commerce purchases, a 0.67% lower rate than global consumers on average.
- 21.3% of Japanese internet users make weekly e-commerce purchases, a 28.8% lower rate than global consumers on average.
Mobile eCommerce Demographic Statistics
In the United States, high-income shoppers aged 30-49 are most likely to shop online via mobile devices.
- 92% of 30- to 49-year-olds regularly use smartphones for online shopping; 49% use smartphones to shop at least once weekly.
- 30- to 49-year-olds are 29% more likely than the average U.S. adult to shop using smartphones; they are 53% more likely to do so at least once per week.
- 87% of 18- to 29-year-olds regularly use smartphones for online shopping; 38% use smartphones to shop at least once weekly.
- 18- to 29-year-olds are 14% more likely than the average U.S. adult to shop using smartphones; they are 19% more likely to do so at least once per week.
- 69% of 56- to 64-year-olds regularly use smartphones for online shopping; 22% use smartphones to shop at least once weekly.
- 56- to 64-year-olds are 9.2% less likely than the average U.S. adult to shop using smartphones; they are 31% less likely to do so at least once per week.
- 48% of users aged 65 years or older regularly use smartphones for online shopping; 11% use smartphones to shop at least once weekly.
- Consumers aged 65 years or older are 37% less likely than the average U.S. adult to shop using smartphones; they are 66% less likely to do so at least once per week.
- 46.9% of American mobile e-commerce shoppers are 18- to 24-year-olds.
- 25- to 34-year-olds account for 31.8% of mobile shoppers; 35- to 44-year-olds account for 9%.
- Only 4.2% of mobile shoppers are 45- to 54-year-olds; 8.1% are 55 years or older.
- 53.1% of mobile e-commerce shoppers in the U.S. are male, 46.9% are female.
Mobile Shopping Product Categories
Consumers prefer shopping for clothing, shoes, and accessories through mobile shopping apps more than other product categories.
- 64% of consumers browse for clothing using a mobile shopping app.
- 62% of consumers or 97% of clothing browsers would purchase clothing in an app.
- 56% of consumers browse for shoes using a mobile shopping app.
- 50% of consumers or 89% of shoe browsers would purchase shoes in an app.
- 44% of consumers browse for accessories using a mobile shopping app.
- 46% would buy accessories in an app, a 4.6% higher rate than just browsing.
- While 42% of consumers would browse for furniture on a mobile shopping app, only 25% would purchase furniture through an app.
- 30% of consumers would purchase sporting goods in a mobile shopping app; 31% would browse sporting goods in-app.
- 29% of consumers would buy cosmetics in a mobile app; 25% would browse cosmetics in-app.
- 25% of consumers would purchase toys through a mobile shopping app; 30% would browse toys in-app.
Mobile Shopping Barriers
92% of online consumers who shop on smartphones say that retailers could improve the mobile shopping experience.
- 67% of mobile shoppers report that pages and links that are too small to click on disrupt their mobile shopping experience.
- 42% of mobile shoppers cite security concerns as a common barrier to ordering directly from their mobile devices.
- Interruptions from messages and other apps distract 36% of mobile shoppers while they shop online.
- Difficulty finding what they are looking for frustrates 36% of mobile shoppers.
- According to 57% of mobile shoppers, retailers can make the purchasing experience more enjoyable by making it easier to check out.
- 57% of mobile shoppers would like online retailers to provide more information and reviews of products.
- 52% of shoppers say that retailers can improve their mobile shopping experience by helping them find what they are looking for faster.
- Privacy concerns are the top reason consumers choose not to download mobile apps at 45%.
- 43% of consumers do not use mobile shopping apps because they do not want more apps on their phones.
These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.
Sources
- National Retail Federation
- Forbes
- Statista, Mobile eCommerce
- Morning Consult, Smart Cart
- Pew Research Center
- U.S. Census Bureau, Business and Economy
- Data.ai, State of Mobile Retail
- Insider Intelligence, Guide to mobile commerce…
- Monetate, Ecommerce Benchmarks…
- Dynamic Yield, The State of Personalization in Mobile Commerce
- New Store, Survey: 1 in 3 U.S. Consumers Prefer Mobile Shopping Apps…