Mobile Social Commerce levels double in six months, Reevoo figures show / IRX, 21st-22nd March

Internet Retailing Expo, 21st-22nd March 2012

Mobile evolving rapidly into a significant and effective channel for consumer reviews and conversions

The proportion of consumer reviews displayed on mobile devices has more than doubled from 1.8% to 3.7% in the last six months, while the conversion rate when people read a review is 42% higher on mobiles than when they read one elsewhere, according to new data. Collated by social commerce company Reevoo, the figures provide compelling evidence for the growing importance of mobile as a social commerce medium.

Analysis of data collected by Reevoo shows that:
o 44% more people accessed retailer sites via mobile devices than they did in the previous six months
o More than 10% of all the reviews collected by Reevoo are now submitted via mobile devices, up 27% in just six months

Richard Anson, founder and chief executive of Reevoo, said: “Mobile penetration in the UK is 130%, with smartphone penetration at 46% and growing fast. And people are clearly ever more comfortable using their mobile device for tasks like reading or writing reviews, and the act of purchasing itself, when once they would have returned to their laptop.

“The growth area for online retail is undoubtedly ‘mobile’, and fertilising this growth by providing mobile social commerce functionality to customers ought to be a top priority for any retailer,” he added. “Finally, it’s vital that retailers prioritise the mobile and social media channels for social commerce correctly, and they absolutely must grasp that social commerce is far broader than social media.”

Reevoo displays more than 750 million items of review content every month, meaning that more than nearly 28 million reviews are displayed on mobile devices every month – almost a million every day.

Reevoo, stand number P35, is sponsor of the Mobile and Social Commerce Conference at Internet Retailing Expo, 21st-22nd March 2012 at Birmingham NEC. At 10.30am on March 22nd, Reevoo chief executive Richard Anson will present experiences from Reevoo partners revealing how they use their social content across channels including mobile, social and the store.