Optimizing Mobile For Holiday Shopping

With Black Friday only a week away the holiday shopping madness will soon commence. Shopping this holiday season is projected to reach $72.4 billion! That’s $10 billion more than last year’s spending. For brands prepping their marketing and advertising, mobile and digital continue to play a huge role in influencing shopping and purchasing decisions. Check out these stats from Yahoo:

Half of holiday sales will be influenced by digital interactions
84 percent of shoppers use digital tools before or while shopping, and convert at a 40 percent higher rate
101.7 million US consumers will purchase on their mobile devices
86 percent of retailers expect their 2014 online holiday sales to increase

What does this mean for brands? There is an enormous opportunity to increase holiday sales and connect with your customers. The three key things to consider when planning your mobile marketing for the holidays: email, social media and mobile payments. For retail stores, mobile marketing tactics like beacon campaigns or NFC cards offering coupons and rewards are great ways to add an extra personalized touch for shoppers.

First, make sure your email campaigns are optimized for mobile. This should apply to email campaigns all year long, but shoppers will be watching closely for deals and discounts during the holidays. As pointed out above, four out of every five shoppers use digital tools before or while shopping. These include email, social media, web browsing and SMS messages. Make sure your holiday deals and perks (like free shipping) and store hours are easily available!

Social media is another great place to place your offers and discounts. Forty five percent of consumers said they would rather take Twitter shopping than their significant other, according to a survey conducted by Twitter last year. Even while in-store, shoppers will be browsing Twitter and Facebook to find deals and products. Use mobile optimized images to catch their attention and use relevant hashtags like #BlackFriday #CyberMonday and #holidaysavings.

Last, mobile payments are expected to get their first big jump this year with 30 percent of shoppers saying they plan on using mobile payments. If you have mobile payments available, make sure customers are aware when shopping online and before getting to the cash register when in store. The faster and easier your checkout process, the happier your customers will be.

How are you planning to connect with shoppers this holiday season?