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Asda Ofcom John Lewis

eBay beats Amazon to be named most popular retailer on mobile, Ofcom finds

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

August 7, 2014 | 3 min read

Ebay is the most popular retailer on mobile, beating the likes of Amazon, Argos, Tesco and John Lewis to the top spot, according to Ofcom’s Communications Market report.

Ofcom found that the number of visitors to the most popular online retailers on mobile platforms increased year on year but the popularity of the eBay app contributed to its increased reach across mobile audiences.

Ebay had a mobile reach of 34 per cent while Amazon trailed behind with a reach of 28 per cent followed by Tesco (13 per cent), Argos (12 per cent) Asos (seven per cent) and Asda (six per cent).

December saw Amazon’s mobile users peak at 5.8 million, a trend true for Argos and Tesco as they pulled it 2.8 and 2.5 million respectively in December 2013.

Amazon also lost its crown as the most popular retail website. In March 2013 it had a unique audience of 24.4 million, just ahead of eBay’s 23.4 million. However, by March 2014, eBay had increased its unique audience to 27.3 million compared to Amazon’s 26.9 million.

Asda failed to grow its online audience, recording 6.6 million unique visitors in March 2013 and the same number in March 2014. The rest of the top 10 – Argos, Tesco, Asos, Marks and Spencer, Next, Debenhams, and John Lewis - all increased the number of people visiting their sites.

Ofcom also found that the proportion of mobile internet users who use their handset to purchase goods or services increased by four percentage points to 24 per cent between March 2013 and March 2014.

In the same period the number of mobile internet users who checked product availability on their handset increased by three per cent to almost a fifth of users (19 per cent).

One in four mobile internet users (25 per cent) found a store’s location on their handset, while one in five (21 per cent) compared product prices and researched product features.

Mobile internet shoppers were also found to be spending more money via their handsets each month.

The proportion of consumers who stated they spent upwards of £100 a month online on via a mobile device increased by four per cent year-on-year to 41 per cent. One in 10 mobile shoppers claimed to spend more than £300 online.

The report also looked at the media sector and found that broadcast TV advertising revenue returned to growth in 2013 with a rise of four per cent to almost £3.7bn while the UK TV industry as a whole generated £12.9bn in revenue, representing a rise of 3.4 per cent.

Asda Ofcom John Lewis

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