Google shares data on how mobile is set to impact shopping this holiday

Along with a set of recommendations for effectively reaching shoppers on mobile this holiday season, Google published a compilation of stats to help round out a picture of how mobile is influencing shopping behaviors in-store and online.

Here’s a look at what the data indicate about how mobile will play a role in retailer and brand success this coming season.

Don’t count on brand loyalty. Or put another way, mobile increases chances of getting consideration from new customers:

• 76 percent of mobile shoppers have changed their mind about which retailer or brand to purchase.
• Over 50 percent of smartphone users have discovered a new company or product when conducting a search on their phones.

Mobile visibility influences in-store traffic: 

• 64 percent of smartphone shoppers turn to mobile search for ideas about what to buy before heading into store.
• 76 percent of people who search for something nearby on their smartphone visit a related business within a day, and 28 percent of those searches result in a purchase.

YouTube can influence purchasing online and in-store: 

• 25 percent of mobile video viewers in the US have visited YouTube for help with a purchase decision while they were at a store or visiting a store’s website.
• Mobile watch time for product review videos on YouTube grew 60 percent year over year.

More mobile searchers are looking for special gifts, not just the cheapest:

• Mobile searches related to “unique gifts” grew more than 65 percent, while mobile searches related to “cool gifts” grew 80 percent. 
• Mobile searches related to “best gift” grew 70 percent year over year.
• Searches related to cheap or inexpensive gifts grew just 35 percent.

During last year’s holiday season, mobile conversion rates first peaked on Veteran’s Day, a holiday for many schools and businesses, followed by the expected increases on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Retailers and brands should also be prepared for a surge over the first post-holiday weekend in early January.

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

As Third Door Media’s paid media reporter, Ginny Marvin writes about paid online marketing topics including paid search, paid social, display and retargeting for Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She provides search marketing and demand generation advice for ecommerce companies and can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.