Online Spend Set to Rise This Holiday Season, Mobile Devices to be Heavily Used

(IDEX Online News) – Shoppers will be turning online in greater numbers this holiday season and will be using their mobile devices to do a great deal of research, buying and connecting with merchants, according to the fourth annual "Mindset of a Multi-Channel Shopper" from MarketLive.

The survey found that while customers will spend about the same amount on holiday gifts as last year, a greater share of that spending will be online. In addition, of the more than 1,000 shoppers surveyed, 33 percent said they would do all or most of their shopping on the Internet; a significant jump from last year's 25 percent.

The survey also revealed that 16 percent of consumers plan to do all or most of their shopping via a smartphone or tablet this holiday season; up from just 3 percent who planned to shop via mobile device last year. Further, 29 percent (12 percent in 2011) said they will use their mobile phone to research gifts prior to a store visit while 43 percent said they are very or somewhat likely to use their mobile devices for redeeming coupons when making an in-store purchase.

"Given what we now know about how people will shop this season, according to the shoppers themselves," said Ken Burke, founder and chairman of MarketLive, "retailers should be asking themselves: how can I better optimize my brand for m-commerce? How can I better garner consumer interest via social media? How can I improve my value proposition and execution?"