Holiday shoppers going social, mobile

Correction at 7:25 a.m. PST November 12: This article incorrectly stated the percentages of consumers planning to use social media and mobile phones to assist in their holiday shopping. Seventeen percent of consumers who were surveyed plan to use social media to help them shop, and 19 percent plan to use their mobile phones.

If you're looking for just the right gift for Aunt Sally, you may find yourself turning to social networks and your mobile phone this holiday-shopping season.

More consumers expect that these two aspects of technology will help lead the way this year, according to a recent survey from consulting firm Deloitte.

Deloitte, which surveyed more 10,000 consumers for its 24th annual holiday-shopping survey, drillled down on technology's effect on buying habits by releasing new statistics on Wednesday.

The survey found that 17 percent of consumers plan to use social media during the holidays. Of that 17 percent chunk, 53 percent plan to use social media to research gift ideas, 52 percent intend to check the wish lists of relatives and friends on social networks, and 60 percent plan to hunt for discounts and sales using social networks.

Mobile phones are also becoming a tool for bargain-hungry shoppers.

Among those surveyed, 19 percent plan to use their mobile phones to assist in holiday shopping. Of that 19 percent chunk, 55 percent expect to use their phones to find store locations, 45 percent to research prices, 40 percent to seek product information, 32 percent to find discounts, and 25 percent to buy a holiday gift.

The good, old Internet still rates as a top spot for holiday shoppers, with 22 percent saying they'll shop primarily online this year and 44 percent expecting to use a coupon they find online.

Online research is big for key purchases, with 39 percent saying they read reviews of stores or products written by other consumers and 34 percent indicating that such online reviews influence their buying decisions more than advertising.

The relationship between brick-and-mortar stores and their Web sites seems to be symbiotic. Among those questioned, 65 percent said they've purchased an item online after finding it in a store or catalog, while 78 percent said they've bought a product in a store after seeing it on the store's site.

"Consumers are turning to mobile, online and social media during their entire holiday shopping experience," Stacy Janiak, a Deloitte vice chairman, said in a statement. "Retailers should consider harnessing this activity to turn browsers into buyers with one-click access to coupons, promotions and purchasing tools. This year's leaner in-store inventories may also open the door for retailers to lure customers to their online channels where it is easier to access inventory, no matter where it is located."

Commissioned by Deloitte, the survey was conducted online by an independent research firm between September 24 and October 2 and included responses from 10,878 consumers.

[rnellis2002]

This is a very true article. Take me, for example, I am a new iPhone user just earlier this year and the reason I bought one was because the price had finally come down to a palatable level.

Robert
<a href="http://sharepointanswersforconsultants.blogspot.com>My Blog</a>

[atish505]

Mobile commerce and shopping is coming into mainstream. There are a lot of startups in Seattle Area, Austin and San Francisco/Valley working on mobile commerce, ordering and payment applications.

[abrembo100]

Ha ha, this reminds me of the time when I go shopping and use a laptop to check prices or when I call friends so they can tell me if there are deals for the items I am about to purchase. Just way too funny. (Yes, I realize this article is talking about the data aspect of the mobile phone use).

I agree with the survey that there is a link between B&M stores and their online counter parts. There are times when it's convenient to shop online and then go to a store to pick it up, or if there are problems with online perchase, I can return it to the store instead of mailing the package back.

Also, once you know how to get good deals, it's hard to justify paying more than you absolutely have to.

After all, we are all trying to make do and get as much as possible for each dollar spent. Lately my family and I have been doing more research before buying anything, and have also done more online shopping and looked harder for better deals, more so than ever.

One of the online sites we have found to be useful is:
http://www.uberi.com

They do have some interesting bargains listed that are not available even on price search engines. I would suggest also checking out the Amazon Discount Table over there just for kicks.

[watmerter]

i think its a right shopping from mobile.because we can save our time and some money.and we can get very fast shopping things.and getting very esliye .with out crowded.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2149962

[anpanman11]

Hi Lance, on the note about the 53% of people who will use social media to research gifts. Check out Thingbuzz.com which recently launched. It aggregates the latest Twitter product trends and would be a great gift finder for Christmas.

Most recently tweeted holiday gifts:
http://www.thingbuzz.com/search/products/Holiday/latest/1

You can also search for products that a twitter user has tweeted. Just replace pacman76 with the person's Twitter handle!
http://www.thingbuzz.com/twitter/pacman76