eBay is the most popular e-commerce app in the US, according to new data from Nielsen, as smartphone owners increasingly complete their online shopping on mobile devices, rather than desktop PCs or laptops, reports StrategyEye. According to the report, US smartphone owners spent an average of 1.04 hours browsing eBay’s mobile app in June, with the site attracting some 13.16 million unique visitors during the period. The firm is closely followed by Amazon with 12.12 million uniques, although browsers spent far less time on the site, at just 18 minutes on average during the period. Groupon attracted 11.24 million visitors in June who spent around 21 minutes on average browsing its deals, indicating that there is still strong demand for its service despite fears that consumers are tiring of group buying.

Nielsen claims that 47% of US smartphone owners used mobile shopping apps in June. Given that smartphone ownership has now reached tipping point in the region, this indicates that nearly a quarter of the US population is now using a smartphone to shop online. The research house claims that some 45 million smartphone owners accessed m-commerce apps an average of 17 times last month, highlighting the growing shift in consumer behaviour.

“Retailers are finding that consumers are willing to use smartphone apps to enhance their shopping experience, and this data shoes usage of shopping apps is growing,” says Nielsen director of telecomm insights, Don Kellogg.