More ‘mobile moments’, fewer ‘swirly icons’ in the Irish e-commerce experience

Traffic to Irish e-commerce websites increased 28 per cent year on year in the second quarter, with mobile's share of traffic leaping while tablet's share stood still, the latest study from marketing agency Wolfgang Digital shows.

The company, which recently welcomed Taoiseach Enda Kenny to its AstroTurf-clad new Dublin office, says mobile traffic to its sample of Irish e-commerce sites jumped 64 per cent year on year.

"People are squeezing in more and more 'mobile moments' during their day," says Wolfgang chief executive Alan Coleman. "Transport time, bedtime and even toilet time are prime face-in-phone moments."

All devices are growing their levels of traffic, but mobile is simply growing at a faster rate. It now accounts for a 37 per cent share of traffic, up from 29 per cent, while tablet’s share has stood still at 17 per cent – kept in check, perhaps, by the decline in iPad sales.

Although the share of traffic to e-commerce sites held by desktop (including laptop) has decreased from 54 per cent to 46 per cent, it’s still “holding its own”, says Coleman. “The desktop enjoys a captive audience between 9am and 5.30pm and the laptop is still the sofa and bed device of many.”

With 4G penetration on the rise, people don’t need to spend more time online to visit more webpages now, he notes. “Less time is spent watching swirly icons and more time is spent consuming content.”

E-commerce spending, meanwhile, is increasing much faster than traffic, with Wolfgang’s sample enjoying a 62 per cent surge in spending.