Skip to main content

IBM reveals the differences between iOS and Android Christmas spending habits

online sales tax bill proposal resurfaces spending
Image used with permission by copyright holder
IBM has been digging into the data to reveal some of our Christmas shopping habits over the holiday season, and as we’ve seen before it was iOS users who accounted for the bulk of the dollars spent over Christmas, despite Android’s larger share of the market in terms of device numbers. Out of all the online browsing done on Christmas Day on any platform, 57.1 percent of it was done on a mobile device, a rise of 18.6 percent over the same day in 2013.

As far as purchases are concerned, online sales were up 8.3 percent over the same period on Christmas Day 2013, while mobile sales went up 20.4 percent. Taking everyone who bought something online on Christmas Day into account, the average order value was $100.33, a jump of 6.2 percent from the figure recorded in 2013.

Recommended Videos

We might spend a lot of time browsing on our mobiles, but when it comes to actually clicking the purchase button, desktops and laptops remain the most popular devices: 65.2 percent of all online sales on Christmas Day were made from a computer Web browser. Consumers also spent more money on desktops and laptops than on mobiles, perhaps because we want a better look at those big ticket items before splashing the cash.

In terms of comparing smartphone platforms, iOS users spent more time online, bought more stuff and paid more for each item than those toting devices running Android. iOS traffic accounted for 39.1 percent of total online traffic for Christmas Day, more than double the 17.7 percent figure recorded for Android. Are Android users less well-off or just more interested in spending time with the family? IBM doesn’t speculate.

The company did look at the relative performance of Facebook vs Pinterest for driving sales, though, through its Smarter Commerce system. Pinterest edged the battle, with referrals averaging $99.86 per order as opposed to the $89.90 per order registered from Facebook referrals. You can read the full report via the IBM analytics hub.

[Header image courtesy of LDprod / Shutterstock.com]

David Nield
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…
The iOS 18.2 update includes a special feature just for iPhone 16 Pro users
A person holding the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.

If you have an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, updated to iOS 18.2, and regularly use the Voice Memos app, then your phone just got even better if you're a musician. Originally teased in September’s iPhone 16 event, Layered Recordings is now available in the Voice Memos app with the iOS 18.2 update.

What exactly are Layered Recordings? Basically, you can now add a vocal track layer on top of any existing instrumental recording without the need for headphones. In the iOS 18.2 update, users are now able to play original instrument ideas through the iPhone’s built-in speakers while simultaneously recording vocals with the studio-quality microphone on the iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max.

Read more
iOS 18.2 is rolling out now with a ton of new Apple Intelligence features
Apple Intelligence on the Apple iPhone 16 Plus.

Apple has started the public rollout of iOS 18.2 and the corresponding iPadOS update, and they bring a handful of long-awaited features in its AI kit. The release notes are pretty exhaustive, and they reveal a few features that are minor improvements to the already available Apple Intelligence bundle.

The most notable addition is ChatGPT integration with Siri, which shifts things over to the OpenAI chatbot if Apple’s assistant can’t provide an answer. ChatGPT integration is also expanding within the Writing Tools set, thanks to the compose feature that lets users create fresh content and generate images.

Read more
6 excellent iPhone apps that I wish were available on Android
Four iPhone exclusive apps and associated widgets on an iPhone 16 Pro homescreen

For the past 15 years, the way we think about and use technology has been completely reshaped. What was once a hardware-first industry quickly became a software-first one, and this radical evolution of technology can be traced back to one pivotal moment. In 2009, Apple debuted the iPhone 3G and the first App Store. This launch ushered in a new era: the smartphone, complete with apps. It also debuted one of the best commercials, complete with a catchphrase that is sometimes still used today: There’s an app for that.

For many years, the iPhone had a plethora of apps that were not available on Android. While most of these are now available cross-platform, not every developer has embraced the billions of potential customers who don’t have an iPhone. Even now, some apps launch first on iOS and can take months or years to launch on Android.

Read more