Smartphone and tablet users are ringing up big sales for retailers.
Seventeen percent of online sales in 2015 were made by consumers using smartphones, up 53 percent from one year earlier, the National Retail Federation reported recently.
Online shoppers using tablets accounted for 14 percent of retail purchases, up 32 percent.
Smartphones and tablets represented 29 percent and 15 percent of online traffic, respectively.
“It’s the age of the customer and retailers need to be wherever shoppers are when they’re browsing and buying,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst for Forrester Research, which conducted the research.
Online purchases have fueled increases in shipping in recent years. The Postal Service’s shipping revenue has soared almost 50 percent during the past five years alone.