On Christmas Day (December 25th), iOS users once again demonstrated that they use their devices more than their Android counterparts. According to data from IBM, sales from iOS devices were five times higher than sales made from Android devices, while total traffic from iOS devices was more than twice that from Android.
The report was based on the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, data analysis of Internet traffic in the U.S. While the company sells data from this engine, IBM has released public reports for Black Friday and Christmas Day for some time, and the consistent message is that iOS device owners use their devices far, far, and far again more than Android device owners.
"As a percentage of total online sales, iOS was more than five times higher than Android, driving 23 percent vs. 4.6 percent for Android," IBM wrote. "iOS also led as a component of overall traffic with 32.6 percent vs. 14.8 percent for Android."
iOS owners also spent more than Android owners, at US$93.94 per order, compared to $48.10 for Android device owners.
All this takes place in an environment where mobile traffic accounted for 48 percent of all online traffic on Christmas Day. That's up 28.3 percent year-over-year, and it's a record. Sales made from mobile devices were up 40 percent year-over-year and accounted for 29 percent of all online sales.
Breaking that down further, smartphones drove 28.5 percent of all online traffic, while tablets drove 18.1 percent. Tablets drove more sales, however, at 19.4 percent, compared to 9.3 percent for sales from smartphones. Tablet owners spent $95.61 per order, while smartphone owners spent $85.11 per order.
Those figures were led by iOS devices, of course, because even though Android has a majority of market share, most Android device owners don't actually use their devices for much more than texting, phone calls, and maybe a few pics here and there.