zanox Mobile Performance Barometer 2013: Europe is still playing it big in m-commerce no levelling effect in sight yet Outstanding growth rates: 64% in mobile transactions, even 95% in mobile revenues Consumers trust in mobile as purchasing platform grows Android strikes back Year of Travel with strong mobile players on the advertiser and publisher side What is the zanox Mobile Performance Barometer? The zanox Mobile Performance Barometer analyses zanox data from seven European markets (Benelux, Eastern Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and Spain) reflecting the development, trends and user behaviour in m-commerce in 2013, up to early 2014. It is based on pure facts substantiated by zanox's data on mobile transactions and the revenue generated in our network. No survey has been conducted and no expert opinions have been incorporated to generate the results just hard facts.
Mobile revenues and mobile transactions in 2013 Exceptional growth-rates indicate a successful 2013 in mobile performance European m-commerce continued its growth path in 2013, with another exceptional rise in mobile transactions of 64% and an outstanding 95%-increase in mobile revenues in a year-on-year comparison with 2012. Based on the disproportional increase in mobile revenues against mobile transactions, we can assume that trust in mobile devices has increased, as demonstrated by the increase in average order values. Consumers are more confident about buying higher-priced articles via mobile devices. This strong upward trend is facilitated by innovations and developments on both the advertiser and publisher sides. On the advertiser side, the number of dedicated apps increased in 2013; on the other hand, strong new mobile publishers launched and developed their businesses in the same year. On top of this, there is improved usability and user-experience on mobile devices, as well as the fact that mobile has become a widely trusted platform. This growing trust in the channel is reflected by higher average order values. The share of mobile revenue climbed to 8% in 2013 at the zanox average, compared with 6% in 2012, thus stressing the rising importance of mobile performance marketing.
Even when looking at the comparison of January 2013 and January 2014, this trend is continuing in 2014. In this timeframe, we see a rise of two thirds in transactions. Another big surge can be seen in the revenue share generated via mobile devices for January 2013 (5.8%) versus January 2014 (11.1%). Here, it is worth looking at the comparison of the shopping-strong month of December 2013 (9.2%) and January 2014 (11.1%). Is this a knock-on effect of the so-called Tablet Christmas? These interesting results lead us to the assumption that 2014 will be another promising year in mobile performance. Over the past few years, we have observed a persistent upward trend in mobile shopping one that continues today. A growing number of consumers are becoming more enthusiastic about shopping mobile every day. The steadily growing reach of mobile devices, new mobile shopping solutions and improved usability add leverage to the users inclination to buy using mobile devices, says Thomas Joosten, zanox CEO. Our goal is to build meaningful relationships between advertisers and publishers to best serve the consumer no matter where they decide to shop. In the future, we will see a true integration of e-commerce, m-commerce and the offline shopping experience, such as will facilitate innovation and development at all levels, with a strong focus on mobile.
Performance by countries: Scandinavia and Benelux share pole position Comparing the mobile revenue-share (2013) and year-on-year revenue-growth (2012-2013) across Europe, Scandinavia is once again among the pacesetter in both criteria (15% share of mobile revenue, 116% year-on-year revenue growth). However, it took a photo-finish with Benelux, with its 14%-share of mobile revenue and year-on-year growth of 119%. These figures show that while both markets are advanced in mobile performance, they still have potential for further growth. Benelux (9% in 2012 to 14% in 2013) and Scandinavia (10% in 2012 to 15% in 2013), in particular, substantially increased their share of mobile revenues, followed by Spain (7% in 2012 to 10% in 2013). Generally speaking, compared with 2012, all countries showed an increased share of mobile revenues in 2013.
The graph shows that all markets show a lot of potential for expanding mobile revenues year by year. In 2013, all markets grew by an average of 85%. Leaders in this development are the Benelux, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. We see further opportunities, especially when the latest developments on the tablet market are taken into account. With new and more affordable tablets on the market, m-commerce continues its triumphal procession to scale new heights a trend we already observed in early 2014.
Performance by industries: Travel leads the field in mobile revenue increases (2012 vs. 2013) When it comes to the industry breakdown for mobile revenues, Europe is anything but homogeneous, although, compared with 2012, the zanox average shows steady growth-rates in all industries in 2013. Travel leads the field with an increase of 185%, followed closely by Financial Services (162%). Telco & Services (114%) and Retail & Shopping (81%) demonstrate slightly lower growth-rates. This is due to the fact that these industries already indicated solid performance in mobile revenue in previous years, thus rendering it more difficult to record a higher rate of growth. Although almost all industries increased their mobile performance in 2013, growth-rates vary from country to country. Eastern Europe surprised with an enormous increase in Travel revenue of more than 1,000 % in a yearon-year comparison of 2013 and 2012. This huge performance boost possible was made possible, in particular, by strong new travel programmes and online travel agencies that came on board in late 2012 and 2013. Our sales efforts in the travel industry were not only rewarding in a general sense, but are also reflected in mobile revenue growth. Locally, we see more and more people booking their trips on mobile devices. Without a doubt, tablets are the biggest contributors to this trend, says Tomasz Karolak, Country Manager Poland. Eastern Europe also leads the 2013 growth list in Retail & Shopping with an exceptional 331%.
In Germany, all industries demonstrate high growth-rates of up to 328% (Travel). On the whole, Germany s performance is greater than the zanox average, therefore demonstrating its strong position in the European m-commerce landscape.
Revenue share by device: ipad is still the leader - Android is catching up, especially in early 2014 In 2013, Android's share of mobile revenues (30%) is almost double the mobile revenue-share generated by iphones (16%). When it comes to mobile phones, Android is the clear leader in 2013. In 2012, the two devices ranked neck and neck. Add the ipad to the equation with its 53%-share and the revenues generated via Apple devices clearly exceed Android s performance by a factor of almost 2.5 (iphone and ipad = 69%). Looking at the developments in 2013, the mobile revenue generated per device remained constant, but shows an interesting turn in early 2014: While all devices are increasing their share of generated mobile revenue, the ipad is losing ground as a result of Android tablets coming onto the market just before Christmas and emerging as popular Christmas gifts last year. Starting off the year and testing their new toys, consumers device preferences and the related shopping activity shifted towards devices other than the ipad. We expect the Android tablet boom to grow further, also on low-end tablets, with tablets becoming accessible to a wider range of consumers. For this reason, we predict that the shift towards Android will continue over the course of 2014.
Transactions by operating system per country: A similar picture can be seen in terms of revenue by device, where ios is losing ground to Android It's game on between ios and Android! Within one year, the Android operating system has eaten away at the ios-share. Though it still leads, the ios-share has fallen from 67% (2012) to 62% (2013) against Android (29% in 2012, 35% in 2013), while the share accounted for by other devices has essentially remained stable. Viewed from a country perspective, ios is catching up in Eastern Europe. While Android was the sole leader in this market in 2012 (65% vs. ios 26%), 2013 paints a different picture: ios (45%) and Android (47%) are now running neck and neck in generating mobile transactions. Germany lost its pole position as the ios market. In 2012, 75% of all mobile transactions were tracked on ios. This figure fell to 57% last year, to the advantage of Android. On the other hand, France (62%), Benelux (64%) and especially Scandinavia (68%) have now taken over as the top shoppers on mobile ios products. Spain remains an indicator for Android's highest degree of penetration when it comes to mobile consumption. Spanish mobile shoppers appear tied to their Android devices (62%), even though ios shows a rise of 10% compared with 2012. With these results, Spain sets itself apart from the rest of Europe and is way below zanox average in this respect.
Average order value by device: ipad leads with average order values of 78 in 2013, followed by iphone with 52 per order Examining the trends in terms of average order value by device, we see constant growth year-on-year from 2012 to Q1 2014. Average order values of 78 on ipad in 2013 are no surprise, but the rise by a further 10 in Q1 2014 leads to the assumption that user-trust levels have also improved for the ipad, resulting in higher average order values. It is worthwhile to take a closer look at smart phones: Constantly increasing average order values of up to 62 on iphones in Q1 2014 indicate that consumers are beginning to show greater trust in mobile devices by spending more when using them. In this case, the iphone is in its traditional leading position; iphone users are assumed to have greater spending power something which is also reflected in the chart below. However, this appears to be slowly changing, with increases in average order value on all devices. Looking at the increase in average order value between 2012 and 2013, in particular, a remarkable upward trend can be observed on Android (almost 20%), indicating enormous potential for higher
average order values on Android. As an established device for mobile buying, building on its already high base of previous years, the ipad shows the lowest increase. It is notable here that other devices only account for 1% in shares, so the marked upswing, particularly in early 2014, needs to be looked at from a more differentiated viewpoint.
About the "zanox Mobile Performance Barometer" With its transaction-based business model, the international zanox performance advertising network provides the largest and most relevant European platform for the analysis of trends and developments in the fields of e-commerce and m-commerce. The analysis is based on an appraisal of over 1,000 advertiser programmes in seven European markets (Benelux, Eastern Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and Spain) with annual consumer transactions in the double-figure millions range. With this, the findings of the "zanox Mobile Performance Barometer" provide decisive indicators for shifts in market shares and user habits in m- commerce. The "zanox Mobile Performance Barometer" is a sure gauge for developments in m- commerce one which is not based on projections, surveys or other expert opinions, but rather, plainly and simply, on real consumer transactions; in other words, purchases, contract completions or subscriptions. About zanox zanox is the leading performance advertising network in Germany and Europe. With over 600 employees across the globe, the zanox Group comprising the companies, zanox, Affiliate Window, eprofessional and metrigo supports companies from all industries and of all sizes in the effective marketing of products and services on the internet. With zanox's transaction-linked business model, advertisers only pay for the measurable success of their online advertising activities. Over 4,200 advertisers bank on the zanox global publisher network. With the zanox marketplace, zanox connects advertisers and their agencies with publishers, thereby providing them with opportunities for the monetisation of their traffic. The zanox Group has its headquarters in Berlin and has branches in Germany, England, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, the USA and Brazil. ZANOX AG is owned by Axel Springer AG, with a shareholding of 52.5%, and by the Swiss PubliGroupe AG with 47.5%. For further information, see: www.zanox.com. Press Contact Alexandra Lilienthal ZANOX AG Tel.: +49 30 509 691 8092 E-Mail: alexandra.lilienthal@zanox.com LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandralilienthal