Mobile Shopping This Holiday Season

Did you brave the Black Friday holiday crowds? This year, retailers switched things up – many starting the huge shopping event a day early and providing different sales at different times, meaning shoppers turned to their mobile phones and tablets to help them keep track of merchandise, times and the best deals.  According to Fierce Mobile Content

How did retailers fare?

• eBay Mobile announced that shoppers in the U.S. purchased nearly two and a half times as many items via eBay Mobile this Black Friday when compared to 2010
• PayPal Mobile announced a six-fold (516%) increase in global mobile payment volume compared to 2010
• GSI Commerce announced a three-fold (254%) increase in U.S. mobile sales this Black Friday compared to 2010

“Shoppers are increasingly choosing the convenience of mobile to find the best deals from wherever they are while avoiding big crowds and long lines,” says Steve Yankovich, vice president, Mobile, for eBay Inc. “The ability to simply pick up your phone or tablet and purchase what you want, when you want it, has become an attractive alternative to shoppers in record numbers this holiday season.”

According John Squire, Chief Strategy Officer “This year marked Thanksgiving’s emergence as the first big spending day of the 2011 holiday season with a record number of consumers shifting their focus from turkey to tablets and the search for the best deals. This momentum continued into Black Friday where the big winners were those retailers that delivered a smarter commerce experience with compelling, relevant deals that people could easily access from their channel of choice.”

The convenience and power of smartphone’s is having a huge impact on retail shopping. Shoppers are researching product reviews and comparing prices in-store. Consumers are using mobile apps to locate local deals. Smartphone’s  empower people to buy online even when they aren’t in front of a desktop. At Phase 2 we advice all businesses to have a mobile strategy for 2012.

The shopping frenzy continued into Cyber Monday, the day retailers tout better deals on their online stores, and some extended the sales for “Cyber Deals All Week,” meaning keeping a tablet or smartphone handy was the best way to ensure you get what you want before retailers ran out of stock.

What about you? Did you find the deals you were hoping for this season? Or are you counting on Santa to bring it in his magic sleigh?