PayPal Sees Increased Mobile Use on Cyber Monday and Beyond

December 8, 2024         By: Gregory Sweet

PayPal’s early holiday shopping statistics indicate consumers are increasingly opting for the convenience of mobile purchases. PayPal provided numbers showing a near 50% increase in holiday mobile purchases over last year. All purchases were made through a mobile device: either via the PayPal app or through a merchant mobile site using PayPal at checkout.

Cyber Monday

  • Cyber Monday 2014 global mobile payment volume increased 53% over 2013.
  • PayPal mobile customers increased world wide by 46% compared to Cyber Monday 2013.
  • Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago made the most PayPal mobile purchases on Cyber Monday 2014.

Black Friday

  • Black Friday 2014 global mobile payment volume increased 62% over 2013.
  • PayPal mobile shoppers increased world wide by 51% compared to Black Friday 2013.
  • Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles made the most PayPal mobile purchases on Black Friday 2014.

Thanksgiving

  • Thanksgiving 2014 global mobile payment volume increased 47% over 2013.
  • PayPal mobile shoppers increased world wide by 43% compared to Thanksgiving 2013.

As Payment Week previously reported, increased mobile purchases on Thanksgiving Day demonstrate that more consumers are shopping for gifts while digesting their meal. What better time to shop for loved ones than just after you heard them run through their wish list?

PayPal’s Pablo Rodriguez, Head of Global Consumer Initiatives, notes consumers are looking towards convenient shopping rather than risking the crowds of Black Friday store sales.

Rodriguez also reports of in-store Black Friday shoppers browsing for competitive deals on their phones while holding products in their hands.

Among PayPal’s statistics, it’s interesting to note that Fashion beat out Electronics as the top category among global mobile purchases. Rodriguez notes recent enhancements in the mobile experience of fashion sites made for improved shopping numbers. He adds that more diverse price points for jewelry and clothes as compared to electronics make it easier for personal purchases in addition to gifts.

With recent reports of Black Friday in-stores sales seeing a slump this year, PayPal processed $12 billion in mobile payment volume in Q3, up 72% year over year and representing 20% of total payments volume.

PayPal’s increased numbers for 2014 mobile holiday shopping should come as no surprise, with 2013 figures marking impressive growth over 2012:

  • Thanksgiving 2013 – 115% increase in global mobile payment volume, 91% increase in PayPal mobile consumers compared to 2012.
  • Black Friday 2013 –121% increase in global mobile payment volume, 99.2% increase in PayPal mobile consumers compared to 2012.
  • Cyber Monday 2013 – 115.6% increase in global mobile payment volume, 93.6% increase in PayPal mobile consumers compared to 2012.

Last week comScore reported that 2014 Cyber Monday sales reached $2.038 billion in online spending, making for the largest online spending day in history and the first to eclipse $2 billion in sales. Given that consumers are now turning to mobile payments for their holiday shopping, as evidenced by PayPal’s continued success, we can expect to see increased use for 2015’s holiday shopping.