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November 07, 2011

'Couch Commerce' Lets Holiday Shoppers Buy Gifts via Mobile Phones, Tablets Right after Finishing Thanksgiving Meal

By Ed Silverstein, TMCnet Contributor

Winter holiday shopping is going to be even more convenient this year thanks to smartphones and tablets, according to predictions from industry analysts and media reports.

For example, PayPal is predicting that “right after dinner on Thanksgiving Day, shoppers are getting a head start on their holiday shopping right from the couch on their smartphones and tablets.”

It’s being described as “couch commerce,” and this year will be the first shopping season that it will have an impact on retailers, PayPal said.

“We’re predicting that after dinner on Thanksgiving Day will be the first mobile shopping spike this holiday season,” according to a blog post from Laura Chambers, senior director, PayPal Mobile.



“Retailers looking to lure these early holiday shoppers should think about extending offers and deals to these mobile buyers,” she adds.

The new mobile buyer is a “tech savvy consumer,” adds Wall St. Cheat Sheet.

For example, John Squire (News - Alert), chief strategy officer of IBM Coremetrics, told MarketWatch that mobile users have “less patience. They are surgical shoppers. Retailers … are going to have to do a really good job in targeting their messages and promotions for mobile users,” according to Wall St. Cheat Sheet.

It was also reported that shoppers using mobile phones “spend less time looking at a site and also less time browsing” than those shopping using a PC so companies need to “personalize their mobile content to be specific to the user,” according to Wall St. Cheat Sheet.

Mobile shopping will represent some 15 percent of November purchases, which is a jump from 4.5 percent in 2010 and one percent in 2009, Squire was quoted as saying.

Also, during November’s holiday shopping, an “unprecedented” 15 percent of U.S. consumers who log onto a retailer's website will do so via a mobile device, according to an IBM (News - Alert) study carried on TMCnet.This year, Macy’s and JC Penny’s are offering apps designed for mobile browsing and Saks will release a special app during the holiday shopping season. In addition, Sears will “turn walls of advertisements in high traffic areas” so “a consumer can simply scan a barcode with their smartphone to purchase an item,” Wall St. Cheat Sheet said.

Also, Apple’s iPad will be used for “more retail purchases more often per visit than other mobile devices,” according to ZDNet, some 6.8 percent compared to other mobile devices at 3.6 percent.

The iPhone will be used at a rate of four percent and the Android (News - Alert) operating system devices will be used at a rate of 3.5 percent.

In another interesting statistic, 9.2 percent of consumers who visit a retail site after visiting a social media site actually bought something compared to 5.5 percent in 2010, according to ZDNet, citing IBM data.

More shoppers are also finding that smartphones can be used to “compare prices, research gift ideas, redeem electronic coupons and watch for special deals,” according to The Los Angeles Times.

"Retailers are looking at phones and tablets as one more channel to get shoppers, to drive brand loyalty and drive sales," Jackie Fernandez, a retail specialist for Deloitte & Touche, told the Los Angeles Times. "Consumers will be able to benefit from the discounts offered through them, especially around the holiday season."

In addition, about 1 in 4 smartphone owners expect to use a mobile device for holiday shopping, according to a Deloitte & Touche survey. Of that amount, 59 percent will use phones to compare or check prices, 46 percent will use phones to check product availability and 41 percent will use phones to get coupons via handsets, The Times said.

The Times adds that Facebook, Foursquare (News - Alert) or other kinds of social media will be used by 44 percent of those in the survey “to find discounts, check out friends' or family members' wish lists and browse products.”

Target (News - Alert) and Wal-Mart provide shoppers mobile apps which can be downloaded to users’ smartphones or tablet computers. The apps let shoppers get info about “sale items, instant bargains, what's located where and what's in stock,” according to The Times.

Some apps “collect product data from several retailers and sort it so consumers can compare prices side-by-side from local and online merchants to find the best deal,” The Times said. The apps include EBay's RedLaser, TheFind and SnapTell, The Times adds.

A price-comparison app, ShopSavvy, lets consumers scan a bar code using the app to find out if a lower price can be found somewhere else, according to The Times.

Westfield added a feature that allows shoppers identify which stores in their malls carry a product, according to The Times.


Ed Silverstein is a TMCnet contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves
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