• by Steve Smith  @popeyesm, September 27, 2012

Shopping on mobile devices will ring up $20.7 billion in sales by year’s end, says Javelin Research in its latest report on mobile spending patterns. Of that total, $5 billion already comes from hitting buy buttons on tablets. “With large-screen real estate and mobile capabilities, tablets are the ideal channel to transform PC-based online shoppers into mobile shoppers,” states Mary Monahan, EVP and research director, mobile for Javelin. With tablet ownership poised to double in the next several years, Javelin is predicting an explosion of shopping and buying coming from this platform.

Purchases on tablets are generally averaging $10 higher than those made on mobile phones, the research found. Across different devices such as the iPad and Kindle Fire, there can be differences in average spend and frequency of buying.

Monahan warns that the upcoming holiday season will drive even more tablet-based shopping activity, “but the mobile buying experience is not keeping pace with consumer activity. Apps engage consumers to make purchases,” she says. “Retailers must prepare for the mobile shopping trend or lose out on the opportunity to convert browsers into buyers.”