Savvy shoppers use mobile on Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday

 Cyber Monday is a big thing for retailers.

A recent study from PriceGrabber found that most Cyber Monday consumers will shop from home. Thus, the mobile presence increases.

PriceGrabber recently ran a survey that revealed that when consumers who plan to shop on Cyber Monday were asked to specify from where they plan to shop, 83 percent indicated home, 11 percent said work and 6 percent said they will shop on the go from a mobile device.

The company believes that consumers’ mobile shopping plans continue to increase this holiday season, up from the four percent of customers that planned to shop from a mobile device on Cyber Monday last year.

“When it comes to mobile, consumers are going to be shopping more with their mobile devices than last year,” said James Brown, director of merchant accounts at PriceGrabber.

“Consumers are using smartphones to comparison shop,” he said. “One thing that we found through smartphone usage and mobile usage is that shoppers are more savvy.

“Most savvy shoppers are going to start the shopping process earlier and the idea of waiting. If they see things they want they will find those deals.”

Get ready for the holiday shopping season today!

Contact us, your full service mobile strategy partner:  www.beachbumsmarketing.com

Are you ready for mobile shoppers?

In a recent Mobile Insights biannual study that surveyed 20,000 consumers across fifteen top United States markets in June 2012 it was discovered that approximately 68 percent of U.S. consumers own a mobile device, which is classified as a smartphone, tablet or ereader. This is an increase from 57.2 percent in 2011.

Interesting Facts:

• Smartphone owners are equally split between males and females, per the research.
• More than half of smartphone owners have used their devices inside a store in the past three months. Thirty percent of tablet owners have done the same.
• Forty-seven percent of mobile owners have a QR code reader downloaded onto their device.
• The report also points to a study from comScore in July, which found that 81 percent of smartphone owners used their mobile devices to access a retailer’s mobile site or app. These users also tend to skew younger in age than desktop users and point to mobile becoming a primary medium for consumers to shop from.

With the holiday season upon us, it's important to have a mobile strategy in place for your clients.

Are you mobile ready?  Contact us today for a free strategy session!

www.beachbumsmarketing.com

Are you ready for couch commerce?

This holiday season, PayPal predicts that couch commerce will explode even further.

The term was coined by eBay and PayPal, and last year, both companies predicted that Thanksgiving Day 2011 would be a day when consumers went from their dinner table to their couch to start their holiday day shopping on Thanksgiving Day on their mobile devices.

Both companies saw a 511 percent increase in global mobile payment activity than on Thanksgiving Day 2010.

“Retail has fundamentally changed,” said Anuj Nayar, director of communications for PayPal, San Jose, CA. “We expect to see some of the phenomenon, massive spike in shopping on Thanksgiving Day and couch commerce to explode.

“We also expect to see a percentage of shopping from mobile devices to rise.”

According to Mr. Nayar, although many marketers tend to differentiate mobile and online shopping, the two are similar in many ways. Mobile shopping, however, is done on a smaller device.
“From our point-of-view, mobile is popular,” Mr. Nayar said. “People shop on their smartphones during the day and their tablets at night.

According to the executive, PayPal sees shopping from their mobile devices during the hours of noon to 1p.m. and users turning to their tablets from 6-7 p.m.

“The way that people shop from their devices is different,” Mr. Nayar said. “It just varies at each device.

The shopping paradigm is changing and mobile is changing that,” he said. “I think the key point that we’re seeing as a company, is that consumers are using technology in new ways to find the best deals and they’re fundamentally changing what retail means and how people shop.

“The mobile device, more than anything else, has bridged the lines between online and in-store commerce. It’s changing the ways that consumers shop. Retailers have to react to catch up to what consumers are doing.”

“Consumers are exercising their mobile shopping skills, with more than two-fifths – 41 percent – pre-shopping online versus only 27 percent in 2011,” he said. “”Consumers have increased their use of smartphones inside stores and are leveraging their devices to the frustration of retailers.”

Contact us TODAY so that you are ready for the couch consumer!  It's never too late to get your website mobile friendly!

www.beachbumsmarketing.com

College Kids Use Mobile During Thanksgiving

Mobile is also effecting college kids.

Did you know that two in five students – 38 percent – say they will do holiday shopping on Thanksgiving?

Moreover, 22 percent of students are more likely to decline a Thanksgiving meal invitation if they know they would not be able to use their mobile devices while there.

The Digitas study also revealed that 76 percent of those who shop by mobile device and computer say that it is easier to shop via computer.

Only eight percent of consumers surveyed said their shopping experience was easier via mobile and 16 percent said there is no difference between the two.  The reason?  Mobile businesses do not have their website mobile friendly....is yours? 

The big news for retailers is that the battle for shoppers is definitely getting beyond just getting them in the store or onto the ecommerce site.  It’s also about getting on people’s smartphones and tablets.

Mobile makes life shoppable – so retailers and brands need to focus on being a part of those moments when people are shopping on their mobile devices.  Honestly, the most surprising finding was that there were actually people who would decline an invitation to Thanksgiving if they couldn’t use their smartphones.

I thought that if there is one institution that could withstand our increasing need to always be connected, it would be Thanksgiving. But it just indicates how much mobile is changing behaviors, attitudes and culture.

According to many, mobile is going to play a very substantial role in the holiday shopping this season.

It’s going to play three key roles.  As a way for people to research and compare features and prices, as a way for people to transact and as a way for brands and retailers to proactively reach out with offers and information.

www.beachbumsmarketing.com