NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ: CRTO), the leading commerce marketing technology company, today debuted findings from its Global Commerce Review for Q4 of 2017. The report analyzes shoppers' activities, behaviors and preferences across all devices and browsing environments. The report, which highlights a growing reliance on apps among shoppers, reinforces the "mobile-first" mindset, and will help inform omnichannel commerce marketing strategies worldwide.

"As smartphone usage continues to soar, increased app adoption and mobile browsing have resulted in interesting omnichannel shopping patterns," said Jonathan Opdyke, Chief Strategy Officer, Criteo. "Our latest report illustrates the power of shopping apps to drive significantly higher conversion rates and sales on mobile devices, and also confirms that omnichannel customers provide the highest lifetime value. Retailers and brands can take advantage of these trends to optimize their marketing efforts, allowing them to more effectively connect with shoppers to yield the strongest commerce results possible."

Research Highlights:

App Opportunity
When retailers prioritize app optimization in addition to mobile web, the performance gains are substantial. 

• Globally, advertisers saw nearly a 50 percent year-over-year increase of in-app transactions, climbing to 46 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017.
• In North America, retailers with a shopping app now generate 67 percent of all ecommerce sales on mobile devices. In-app also accounts for 66 percent of mobile transactions for retailers who generate sales on both mobile web and in-app.
• The conversion rate for shopping apps was 21%, more than three times higher than the standard 6% conversion rate seen on mobile web.

Mobile Growth
Mobile web usage has reached a maturity point, but shoppers rarely stay in one place for long, moving in and out of walled gardens, and are still buying on-the-go, with varying levels of frequency, on all connected devices.  

• Smartphone transactions in the US increased by 13.2 percent over the fourth quarter of 2016 (App excluded). Tablet usage declined, with 26.5 percent fewer transactions compared to the year prior. Desktop usage continues to dominate during work hours, but saw a minor slip year-over-year with a 1.1 percent transaction decline.
• Retail categories with the highest share of mobile sales include sporting goods at (44 percent), fashion/luxury (40 percent), and health/beauty (38 percent).
• Seasonality drove a slight dip in the number of desktop transactions preceded by a mobile click, as consumers are more active on mobile devices in the summer. In the fourth quarter, 26 percent of all US desktop transactions were preceded by a mobile device click, down 4 percent from the previous quarter.

Omnichannel Matters
Omnichannel strategies help educate shoppers during their winding journey, which in turn drives positive online results.

• Omnichannel customers offer the highest lifetime value to brands and retailers, generating 27 percent of all sales, despite representing only 7 percent of all customers.

Shopping Moments
Consumers continue to trade desktop for mobile, and back again, depending on the time and day they are shopping online.

• Retailers looking to target the busy working customer cannot ignore the dominance of desktop during business hours, especially between 9 a.m. - noon.
• Alternatively, optimizing for smartphone and tablet targeting remains critical in the evenings and throughout the weekend.

Combining Data
Cross-device data combinations can help retailers make up lost ground from lower shares of mobile sales.

• Combining intent also unlocks the ability to capture more dollars per shopper, as average order values are significantly higher—up to 17 percent on average—for matched shoppers. This trend is especially apparent in the fashion/luxury, health/beauty and high-tech categories.

Study Methodology
The Global Commerce Review analyzed individual browsing and purchasing data from over 5,000 retailers, in more than 80 countries during Q4 2017.

For a complete look at the Global Commerce Review, view the report at https://www.criteo.com/insights/global-commerce-review-q4-2017-us-en/.

Interactive Global Map
View a dynamic world map that features a global view with aggregate regional data, at https://www.criteo.com/insights/global-commerce-review-map/.

About Criteo
Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO) the leader in commerce marketing, is building the highest performing and open commerce marketing ecosystem to drive profits and sales for retailers and brands. 2,800 Criteo team members partner with over 18,000 customers and thousands of publishers across the globe to deliver performance at scale by connecting shoppers to the things they need and love. Designed for commerce, Criteo Commerce Marketing Ecosystem sees over $600 billion in annual commerce sales data. For more information, please visit www.criteo.com.

Media Contact:
Kenya Hayes
[email protected]
(703) 589-7595

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SOURCE Criteo