Mobile dominates path to purchase in Asia: Criteo

In its Q3 State of Mobile Commerce report, ecommerce transactions were up from 27 percent in the previous quarter, with Indonesia at 56 percent, and Taiwan at 38 percent.

Globally, more than 40 percent of ecommerce transactions now involve multiple devices, as smartphones, desktops and tablets are used in a variety of combinations to research and make purchasing decisions.

“Southeast Asia continues to be one of our fastest growing regions for e- and mcommerce,” said Yuko Saito, managing director, Criteo Southeast Asia. “The region now ranks much higher above the global average of 35 percent, and sits in the same company as advanced mobile countries like Japan and the UK.” 
 


Hong Kong, India and Taiwan currently fall under the remit of Criteo Southeast Asia.

In response to queries by Campaign Asia-Pacific, Saito said that cross-device activity in the region is high due to the fact that many people mainly use smartphones at home and desktops at work.

“For this reason, Criteo has also observed a huge spike in mobile usage over the weekend compared to other regions,” she added.

In addition, apps are becoming more and more of a sales driver as they deliver better CTR and conversion rates. Saito said some clients who have invested in apps have more than 50 percent of revenue coming from that channel.

“Tablets do have high conversion rates, but unlike the US or Europe, tablet usage in this region is relatively small," she added. "Southeast Asia is very much an Android heavy market, and with larger smartphone screen sizes available, people are buying more on smartphones. Conversion rates on smartphones are also on par with or better than on laptops.”

Other key takeaways from the report include:

Cross-device is the norm

Consumers are browsing and buying on all devices—laptops, tablets and smartphones. For brands to succeed, they need to invest in mobile and allocate digital spend strategically:
 


• For purchases completed on laptops and desktops, 39 percent of buyers use at least one additional device during the shopping process.

• On mobile, 43 percent of smartphone buyers and 47 percent of tablet buyers use an additional device.

• Cross-device purchasers are 20 percent more likely to use their mobile device to complete a transaction.


Apps are the next frontier

Early investment in apps is generating significant payback for ecommerce companies that prioritised this platform.

In the retail category, brands that made their app experience a priority generated nearly 60 percent of mobile revenue from the app, up from 50 percent in Q2, and heavily outperforming desktops.

For travel brands that made their apps a priority, about 50 percent of mobile revenue came from the app.

Ensuring that the app experience is seamless, intuitive and engaging is central to boosting engagement and conversions:
 


• For retailers who have prioritised their app experience, 58 percent of all mobile revenue is generated through the app; travel is at 49 percent.

• Apps convert at a rate of 3.7 times higher than mobile browsers and two times more than desktop in terms of adding to basket and buying.


Smartphones are favoured

Consumers are more frequently choosing smartphones as the preferred shopping device. While all devices and channels should be optimised, smartphones are a key vehicle for brands:
 

• Smartphones generate 56 percent of mobile transactions and drive 64 percent of mobile purchases for top quartile retailers.
• Smartphone conversion rate is two times better for top quartile retailers than average retailers.