PETALUMA, CA — (Marketwired) — 10/28/15 — , the leading e-commerce technology platform for fast-growing retailers, today announced the results of its Q3 2015 Performance Index report, measuring the real-world buying behavior of millions of consumers shopping online during the third quarter of 2015.

MarketLive–s third quarter data show that e-commerce sales continue to improve across all retailer categories (Apparel, Beauty, Home Furnishings, Catalog, Brick & Mortar, and Brand-direct), and across all major performance metrics: revenues (+13.5%), traffic (+19.8%), AOV (+3.9% to $158).

Among the stand-out results, once again smartphones are making a bigger impact on retailing in every way as more consumers purchased via their smartphones in Q3 of 2015 than they did in Q3 a year ago: visits (+35.0%), orders (+69.5%), revenue (+97.9%).

Also, Q3 saw traffic shifting away from Search Engines (-6.3% organic / -5.8% paid) and Social sources (-16.5%) — possibly a result of Facebook–s algorithm changes to organic reach of its news feed, which was implemented in January — and toward traffic sourced from Direct Marketing (+17.6%) — indicating that retailers are doing a better job with their customer retention efforts.

“The major trend, once again, we–re seeing smartphones continue to exert their influence on every category of retail. It doesn–t matter if you sell computers, clothing or couches, shoppers want to buy your products from the convenience of their phones. As an industry, if we can remove the last few hurdles around mobile checkout we–ll see mobile shopping become truly ubiquitous,” said Ken Burke, founder and CEO of MarketLive, Inc. “Our customers– e-commerce revenues and performance have increased for the past nine quarters in a row, and momentum is building for a very strong Q4. It–s good news as we move into Holiday and 2016.”

In recent years, more capable smartphones with larger screens and faster Internet connections have lead to more consumers searching for products on mobile devices. In recent quarters, however, it is more capable –mobile-responsive– websites from retailers that are encouraging more shoppers to complete their commerce transactions. Among the retailers included in the MarketLive Performance Index, the key performance metrics for smartphones have achieved new milestones:

Responsive websites and one-click payment options are resolving the remaining friction points in mobile commerce, making it easier for shoppers to view products, research prices, and buy.

Other statistics uncovered in the MarketLive Performance Index include:

Housewares & Furnishings retailers led the index with a conversion rate improvement of +20%; YOY revenue +28%

Apparel and Catalog retailers experienced the highest add-to-cart rates (11.5% and 10.6%, respectively)

Cart abandonment rates improved 7% among smartphone shoppers, but Checkout abandonment among smartphones remains at nearly 62% (vs. 49% average for desktop)

Compared to desktop and tablet, shoppers on smartphones now account for 30% of all traffic and 14% of all revenue (which is 98% higher than Q3 of last year)

SOCIAL COMMERCE FINDINGS

Facebook accounts for 68% of all social revenue and 53% of all new social visits

Growth in revenue from social slowed to +73%

Overall social traffic via smartphones increased 234%

Interested companies may complete an online form to request a free copy of Q3 2015 Performance Index, Volume 30:

The MarketLive Performance Index Vol. 30 was produced by analyzing aggregated, anonymized U.S. traffic and revenue data from MarketLive–s customers whose e-commerce websites have continuously reported data from at least July 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015.

The Performance Index results are broken out by six different retail sectors and key performance metrics including social commerce, paid vs. organic search, average customer visits, average order size, conversion rates, and more. The report also tracks path to purchase, cart abandonment data and offers online retailing tips and best practices based on the real-world buying behavior of millions of online consumers.

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Since 1995, MarketLive, Inc., has been the leading provider of e-commerce technology and services that help fast-growing companies successfully sell goods and services online. Designed to meet the unique requirements of catalogers, retailers, direct marketers, and manufacturers, the extensible MarketLive® Customer Driven Commerce technology and services solution integrates commerce across all channels, enabling merchants to enhance their customers– experience online while dramatically improving acquisition, conversion, and retention rates.

The MarketLive platform is the most retail-targeted, fully featured, customizable Total Commerce solution on the market today. MarketLive powers many successful retail e-commerce sites, including Armani Exchange, Party City, Sundance, Helzberg Diamonds, John Deere, Title Nine, Intermix and others.

For more information, visit .

Renee Newby Friedman
Rocket Science PR, for MarketLive
Office: +1 415 464 8110 x213
Mobile: +1 757 651 6554
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