Dreaming of a WiFi Christmas: How mobile search is growing and retailers are adapting their marketing.

How things have changed over the last decade. People still grumble because the shops are putting up Christmas decorations in November but those same people are probably the same ones checking out the best deals on their mobile phones on Christmas Day itself!

Yes – mobile phone queries now actually peak on Christmas Day as people make use of the post-dinner lull with a bit of browsing (possibly to avoid having to play charades or wash up!).

So you can’t really blame retailers for adapting to our new shopping habits in order to make the most of the busiest selling time of the year, and that means being more mobile friendly, as well as putting up the tinsel in October.

Black Friday

It’s not just the New Year sales that are starting earlier; Black Friday has spread across the Atlantic to get us in the holiday mood. Retailers reported disappointing footfall into their shops, and yet online retailers reported brisk trade last weekend.

Not surprising after last year’s scenes of queues and scrums! Price comparison is much easier with a mobile and who wouldn’t prefer shopping at the push of a button to fighting through crowds along the high street?

This isn’t the only evidence that shopping is evolving:

• Mobile search overtook laptops and desktops in 2015 at just over 1.6 billion; there are now nearly 2 billion users  (source Morgan Stanley Research)
• There are more mobile phones on the planet than people.
• 80% of mobile owners use their phones to search the internet (source The Global Web Index)
• 78% of shoppers research potential purchases online
• 30% of online purchases are made by mobile, and that number is going up.
• And last but certainly not least, Google and Facebook are adopting ‘Mobile First’ strategies.

This year, Google is expecting more mobile search queries than any other device, estimating that 51% of queries will be on mobile for retail related searches.

This offers a great opportunity to retailers; Not only do they allow audiences to be targeted more precisely, but they’re becoming an invaluable source of information to retailers, offering insights into consumer lifestyles, tastes and footfall.

So how are retailers adapting?

Retailers are advertising and engaging with audiences across many more media channels via mobile phones:

The focus for advertisers this season will be on digital marketing through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media.
There will be a lot more seasonal ‘bumper ads’ around (those annoying ads at the start of Youtube clips: as more of them become ‘non-skippable’, so they must become shorter and more entertaining).
Look out for more ‘online only’ shopping guides and deals.
Purchasing experiences will be tied in much more closely with more informative and entertaining online content. Catalogues will be more interactive and constantly updated to excite customers.
Retail sites will be more closely integrated for consumers to enjoy great content and purchase on the spot.

The lesson for retailers is clear: adapt or die

Make sure you engage your customers with interesting and informative digital content they can access from their phones and that they can choose and purchase your goods as simply as possible. Then you can enjoy all the good tidings of the season.