Tablets have been powerful drivers of online commerce--lead by the dominant iPad and Kindle. Another great hope for eCommerce was mobile, which according to Kenshoo, an digital marketing technology company based in San Francisco, is underperforming. A new report, the Kenshoo 2012 U.S. Online Retail Holiday Shopping Report: Early Edition, which takes an in-depth look at mobile ad performance and Google Product Listing Ads with a specific focus on opportunities for search.
Nearly 12% of retail paid search advertising spend was devoted to mobile, yet the return was minuscule--about 2%. Lower conversion rates and tiny average order values are a plague for mobile, currently. The average conversion rate for mobile search ads is just 0.28%, whereas tablets are a much more favorable platform for eCommerce with a conversion rate of 2.15%, just a little behind desktops which have a 3.18% rate of conversion.
As many in the eCommerce industry know, mobile traffic should not be ignored or neglected just because the conversion rate is wanting. For one, mobile optimization is part science and part art, but it is entirely in it's infancy. Designers that learn and tweak their interface structures and applications, will find more meaningful engagements through mobile and most certainly improve the ROI with mobile over time.
Note on the study: The data analyzed by Kenshoo reflects a representative cross-section of Kenshoo clients (advertisers and agencies).