Where will mobile break out this holiday?

I do not see it as a breakout year, but that’s just my opinion. Until the dust settles from a business standpoint it is hard to decide which provider to pick from, as the fees are still higher than they need to be right now. Bigger cities will probably do well, as techies and the younger crowd gather and are used to this way of payment. But here in ruralville, not so much.

Without question, mobile technology will play a bigger role in influence, purchases and payment over this year’s holidays. A breakout year? Not yet.

A year of growth for digital devices is in the cards. The November 2014 Prosper Monthly Consumer Survey points to the fact that 69.1 percent of adults 18 and older now carry a smartphone. That is up from 46.3 percent who carried a smartphone in November 2012. Fully 75.8 percent of adults with a household income of $50,000 and over have this device and 59.9 percent of adults with a household Income less than $50,000 have a smartphone vs. 55.4 percent and 38.0 percent in November of two years ago.

Similar jumps in tablet device ownership have occurred during that two year period. Among adults 18 and older, 44.8 percent have a tablet in the household vs. 22.6 percent in November 2012.

However, consumer actions will determine the “breakout” level. Among owners of these digital devices, about one out of three adults plan to use their smartphone to research or compare prices, and 46.8 percent will use their tablets to take this action. One out of five adults will redeem coupons via their phones, and 14.8 percent will make use of their tablet to get that coupon. Purchasing products via the digital devices, 18 percent via phone and 29.5 percent via tablet, plan on purchasing products in this manner.

Only 5.5 percent of adults will use a smartphone for their purchases over the holidays. Growth—definitely. Breakout—give it another 24 months, and keep digital devices as part of your marketing play.

I think online shopping is online shopping, and this could be a breakout year for online shopping. The device used depends upon the consumer and the retailer. Different consumers prefer a desktop, a tablet or a mobile device. Some consumers may use whichever tool is handy when they remember something they have forgotten, get reminded about an idea or see a good deal. However, if the retailer does not treat desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets and smartphones (in all their variations) as one channel ensuring that they all work seamlessly and quickly, the retailer will lose.

I see an increase in internet sales media market reports every week. Open source marketing resources and tools demonstrate a continuing growth if the company remains current with technology and market demands. However there is a significant increase in growth captured from competitive mega-sites as compared to market growth. In short, the e-commerce super expansions are slowing down. This will most likely stay flat along with the world economy.

The next greatest departure by consumers aside from the mega-sites is ticket size, or smaller purchases. The consumer is splitting orders electronically and picking them up in a logistically-managed routine at off-peak driving times. In short, many small businesses are micro-managing purchases to protect assets against slower growth. This will continue to force retailers to think out of the box with pricing, logistics and inventory as the strongest means to succeed. Inviting consumers to leave whole shopping lists to bid for is a next-step opportunity that must be explored and exploited to gain ground in the next several years. Customers will save time and time is very important with reduced staff levels, a must in today’s markets.

From all this data, one thing is certainly clear. Relevant and personalized promotions and discounts is the way to go. Facebook data creates better profiles of their users hence the 75% of the users are likely to click on their adverts.

Rich Relevance report is interesting but not surprising. If you are going to do online shopping, you are more likely to do it at home on your desktop with a bigger screen but on the go, you just want information for the places you are in or going to and some price comparison to make sure you get a reasonable deal.

Find&Save’s report is also interesting because I would expect nearly 100% of their customer base to want to receive coupons. I mean, that is what they do and if you are their customer, what else did you sign up for? Probably need more information on the study but it seems on the surface that people may not like receiving coupons on their phones as much as their email inbox?

Use of mobile is context specific. Tablets are more often used when sitting down (coffee shop, doctor’s office, couch, etc.) and when people have a bit of time on their hands. That’s part of the reason tablet sales are higher. Mobile is used for immediate on-the-go needs—finding a store; price shopping while in the store; buying out-of-stock items from websites; etc. Retailers should take advantage of this difference and deliver the consumer an experience suited to their device.