Further to our previous analysis regarding e-commerce in retail websites on mobile devices which are not-optimised for mobiles, we have drilled down into the nature of those devices themselves, in order to break out the usage characteristics of iPads as opposed to smartphones.

As previously reported, iPads accounted for 47% on average of all mobile visits (you could argue that the tablet visitors are not really mobile visitors at all).

The bottom line is that iPads behave similarly to PCs. For example, in the sample (27 sites, 1.5m visitors):

- average bounce rates (single page visits) are almost identical to PCs (at 30%)
- they convert at 2.7% vs 3.0% on average
- average order values are comparable (actually 13% higher)
- 40% of the sample actually had better conversions on iPads

Whereas the rest of the mobile community (35% of which are iPhones) compare very unfavourably with PCs and iPads:

- bounce rates are one third higher at 42%
- conversion rates are only one third of iPads and PC browsers at 0.9%

It is here where the big commercial gains can be made. The mobile browser needs simple, easy, clear and fast. Often, she will be conducting a very specific task on the move (without access to a big screen) or responding to a specific promotion or impetus.

The economics are bleak. That mobile traffic (excluding iPads) at 5.3%  which converts at 33% of normal traffic represents anopportunity of not far off £200,000 on 10,000 visits a day (with an average order value of £50). Worth optimising your site for mobile at a cost of £10-£20k, perhaps?