Answer: Desktops still dominate but mobile is growing faster.

From WSJ (subscription required):

Last year, U.S. sales from mobile devices jumped 56% to $49.2 billion, doubling the previous year’s growth, according to comScore. Desktop sales still dwarf mobile, reaching $256.1 billion last year, but annual growth slowed to 8.1% from 12.5%.

Here’s a chart which shows the rapid growth of mobile:

Why does this matter?

This shift to mobile takes impulsive shopping to the next level (think nursing Moms and drunken purchases). Here are a few quotes from the article that capture this:

• “The retailers that are succeeding are training customers to think of their smartphones like an all-day impulse aisle. Apps are able to capture data available on handsets and push consumers to buy when they have a spare moment, whether in line for a morning coffee, or, as in Ms. Pugh’s case, nursing her child.”

• “Mobile devices are driving demand,” said Andrew Lipsman, a comScore vice president, who has studied mobile shopping. “They can create an impulsive buying moment at any point in the day because they are with you all the time, right in your pocket.”

• But the main catch for apps may be the impulsive shoppers. “On bar nights, we see drunk shopping, which is very interesting,” said Alan Tisch, CEO of fashion app Spring Inc. “Maybe there’s an opportunity there.”

Interesting questions to ask your students:

• How many shop using their mobile phones today? What do they buy? Are there items they won’t buy?
• How many have made an impulsive purchase they later regretted?
• What are some techniques they can use to “hack” their impulses?

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.