Mobile transactions up while growth in mobile traffic slows

A “significant growth” in mobile transactions has been revealed as the overall rate of growth in mobile web traffic slows.

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A “significant growth” in mobile transactions has been revealed as the overall rate of growth in mobile web traffic slows.

Digital consultancy Nucleus found in its January mobile web survey that average mobile traffic grew from 38.7% of all traffic in January 2014 to 44.6% last month.

Mobile transactions were up 70% year-on-year to 28.81% of all online revenue.

Responsive designed sites attracted a higher mobile share, with 48.5% compared to 42.7% for non-optimised sites, according to the study.

Luxury brands continue to outpace the mass market with several reporting a 50% rise in mobile traffic.

Android has failed to make progress in the mobile web sector in the period, with a flat 19.5% mobile share vs 77.1% for Apple. Apple’s share of mobile luxury was almost 80%.

Nucleus analysts believe that “responsive website design (RWD) is now the key to monetising the mobile opportunity as mobile becomes the new way to engage and convert prospects into customers.”

Google’s labelling of mobile-friendly sites is seen as reinforcing this shift, yet a recent report by guypo.com for Akamai reported that just 20% of ‘top tier’ websites use responsive design in the final quarter of 2014.

Peter Matthews, chief executive of Nucleus, said: “It is now essential that every consumer brand delivers a seamless, frictionless browse and transact mobile experience. For those who have not yet invested in this latest wave of digital transformation, urgent action is required.”