PayPal Thanksgiving Mobile Payments Volume Up 173 Percent; eBay Mobile Transactions Up 133 Percent

Early reports from yesterday pointed to better-than-expected online sales on Thanksgiving, and PayPal and eBay are reporting strong Thanksgiving numbers on mobile as well.

eBay saw a 133 percent increase in mobile volume transacted on Thanksgiving, compared to 2011. PayPal says that Thanksgiving 2012 resulted in a more than 2.5-fold (173 percent) increase in global mobile payment volume compared to Thanksgiving 2011.

According to PayPal, on Thanksgiving consumers around the world shopped on mobile most frequently between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. PST. On Thanksgiving, GSI Commerce stores saw a 170 percent increase in mobile sales, when compared to 2011.

PayPal also said that there was a 164 percent increase in the number of global customers shopping through PayPal mobile on Thanksgiving 2012 compared to last year. Shoppers in Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and New York made the most purchases via PayPal yesterday.

eBay’s VP of mobile, Steve Yankovich, told us in an interview this week that eBay users on iOS and Android are spending around the same time on the apps. But the average amount spent on iOS vs. Android is significantly higher, he says. How high? Apparently, iOS users on the iPad spend ten times the amount that Android users do.

Between the iPhone and iPad, iPad users spend more money and time on eBay apps. For mobile this year, fashion and tech are the largest verticals for eBay.

Black Friday is also looking good for ecommerce sites and mobile sales, but we’ll see if the growth from last year tops Thanksgiving’s numbers.