Size matters: how device choice affects online spending
Mobile technology has impacted consumer behaviour in a number of ways, with one of the most notable being the increased ease and convenience of making purchases online. But what does it really look like? Are we shopping only through our smartphones, and is the desktop dead?
Smartphones for shopping, desktops for dropping the big bucks
We have analysed more than 2.7 million conversions from 531 programs within beauty, fashion, electronics, kids and family and interior across the Nordic markets. The findings show a clear trend: while consumers lean on smartphones for regular shopping and modest purchases, they gravitate towards desktops for more significant investments. It appears the size of the screen may play a role in the size of the shopping cart.
The map below represents the Average Order Value (AOV) in the five analysed categories, grouped by device (desktop vs. smartphone). The desktop AOV is higher in every Nordic market.
Particularly Norwegians and Danes exhibit this behaviour. In these markets, the desktop's AOV exceeds the AOV of smartphones by 19 % and 35 %, respectively. In other words, Norwegians and Danes seem to prefer the comfort of their computers for heftier purchases.
Variations between categories
On category level, the electronics category sticks out. While Swedes spend almost 30% more when purchasing from a laptop rather than a smartphone, Danes spend 35 % more. Norwegians spend 19 % more when shopping for electronics from a computer rather than a smartphone.
Fins on the other side, go big in the interior category. When shopping from desktops rather than smartphones, Fins spend 23 % more.
The distribution of conversions between smartphones and desktop, shows that desktop is not at all dead. The below graph illustrates the distribution of conversions between the two different device types.
The above data reveals that there is a distinct balance between mobile and desktop usage when it comes to online shopping. One thing is clear: the age of desktop is far from over. While smartphones have seamlessly woven themselves into our daily routines, offering shopping convenience on the go, desktops remain a go-to for sizeable, thoughtful purchases.
About the data
For the above piece, we have analysed more than 2.7 million conversions from 531 programs within beauty, fashion, electronics, kids and family and interior across the Nordic markets. The data is from 2022.
