James Wilson

This is very interesting, although I think I understand why. Typically mobile users are looking for an answer quickly, and are more likely to click on the very first result, rather than viewing the top 5 ones and making a decision about which one may best suit their needs. I think the reason for this is that mobile search is more often used for doing research, either finding a product or service in their locality, or finding information on a product / service (reviews, prices, etc). Typically these searches will inform what they do offline (e.g. visiting a store, or purchasing an item).

I myself do this all the time. When making large purchases I will tend to check prices / reviews online before deciding whether to buy it. If I choose to purchase it it online I won’t do it on my mobile in store but will do it at home. I think this is evident in the study too, as they found that although Click-Through-Rates were higher on mobile devices, conversion rates were much lower.