RESTON, VA: Mobile commerce in the US grew by 47% in Q2 2014, boosted by increased usage of tablets and bucking a seasonal trend for slower rates of growth during the second quarter, new industry data has shown.

In what it described as a "massive increase" in m-commerce spending growth, research firm comScore said it significantly outpaced both total discretionary retail growth (+3%) and desktop-based ecommerce (+10%).

Andrew Lipsman, vp of marketing and insights at comScore, said in a company blog that the 47% growth rate was "impressive", although m-commerce as a percentage of total digital commerce was "not exceptionally high" at 11.1%.

Tablets accounted for 46% of m-commerce spending in the second quarter, he said, and achieved a growth rate of 75% since the same period in 2013. This compared with growth rates of 29% and 10% for smartphones and desktops respectively.

As well as noting the increasing importance of tablets for m-commerce, Lipsman also pointed out that this year's second quarter figures showed a less pronounced seasonal dip in growth as a proportion of total ecommerce.

M-commerce's Q2 share of 11.1% (down 0.4% from Q1) compared with 8.6% in Q2 2013 (down 1.9% from Q1 2013) and 8.1% in Q2 2012 (down 1.2% from Q1 2012).

Lipsman suggested this might be a sign that the "base of m-commerce buyers is finally solidifying and becoming more consistent throughout the year", which could lead to a better foundation for growth in the coming months.

Although he thought it "highly unlikely" that there will be a growth rate of 40% or more in the next two quarters, he expected it will remain in the 30% range.

That would mean m-commerce spending in the US will head towards about $35bn, he said – not far behind the size of the entire digital advertising market.

Data sourced from comScore; additional content by Warc staff