Eeny, Meeny, Miny, MOBILE!

Google’s study agrees with our It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas infographic, confirming that 54% of consumers will start their holiday shopping before Black Friday, and 36% plan to do the majority of it in 4 days – by the end of Cyber Monday! With all that shopping going on, what do small businesses need to know about how consumers will research potential purchases?

• 
  51% of consumers research a product online then visit the store to purchase
• 44% of consumers research a product online then purchase the product online
• 17% of consumers visit a store first then purchase the product online
• 32% of consumers research a product online, visit the store to view the product, then return online to complete the purchase

Apple released the mini just in time to join the collection of smart devices that are going to define holiday gift giving this year. In addition to being on the top of everyone’s “want” list, those who just can’t wait will be adding the mini to what seems like an endless supply of devices already set in “ready mode” for the holidays! (As a side note, have you ever heard of “The Marching Chinese”? This theory holds that if the entire population of China were to line up and file through a gate, they would never finish, as China’s population is large enough that the children of those currently passing through the gate will mature and have more children, who themselves have time to mature and have more children, etc.! This is what I think of whenever I hear the world “endless.”)

Anyway, speaking of an endless supply of devices, 85% of you will shop for a gift by starting on one device and finishing on another! Here’s how you will continue from where you left off, according again to Google:

• 
  45% save bookmarks, shopping cart, etc.
• 45% send an email/link to themselves
• 34% directly navigate to destination
• 32% conduct a search on another device
• 16% sync to an online service
• 4% other

So what can your small business takeaway from all this? One key takeaway is to make sure your business is prepared for the 54% of consumers who will start their holiday shopping before Black Friday. You should also make sure your brand is memorable to the 46% of consumers who plan to spend more time shopping around for gifts this year because of the economy. The bottom line though is making sure your small business is prepared to jump on the mobile bandwagon that is undoubtedly going to happen this holiday season.

How will your small business use mobile technology this holiday season? Let us know by leaving a comment below!