Holiday Shoppers Turning To Social Media And Internet

Digital technologies continue to drive a new approach to shopping, with social media and mobile phones becoming key influencers this holiday season, according to a new survey of holiday retail spending and trends by Deloitte.

Social media is gaining traction with 17 percent of consumers planning to use social media during their holiday shopping, and 60 percent plan to use it to find discounts, coupons and sales information, More than half (53%) plans to use social media to research gift ideas, while 52 percent plan to check the gift wish lists of friends and family.

Consumers in all age groups plan to embrace social media over the holidays. While more than half (52%) of those who expect to use social media during the shopping process are in the 18-29 years old age group, 33 percent are in the 30-44 years old age group and 12 percent are in the 45-60 years old age group.

The mobile phone is another digital tool for the holidays that is on track to be used by 19 percent of consumers to help with their holiday shopping. Those consumers plan to find store locations (55%), research prices (45%), find product information (40%), get discounts and coupons (32%) and read reviews (31%). A quarter plan to make a holiday purchase with their phone.

The Internet ranks as a top shopping destination and continues to see steady growth. Nearly a quarter (22%) of consumers indicate they will shop primarily online this year and many are using the Internet to find special offers, with 44 percent of shoppers expecting to use a coupon they get online.

Reviews have become another key online source of information, with 39 percent of consumers indicating they often read consumer-generated reviews of stores or products online, and one-quarter (25 percent) saying they will likely purchase a product this holiday season based on an online recommendation. More than a third (34 percent) say that online consumer reviews and ratings influence their buying decisions more than advertising.

"Consumers are turning to mobile, online and social media during their entire holiday shopping experience," said Stacy Janiak, vice chairman and Deloitte's U.S. Retail leader. "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."

The Internet is also changing the traditional store-based purchase process. Almost half of consumers (48%) say they like the convenience of shopping with multi-channel retailers, and 78 percent indicate they have purchased an item in a retailer's store after viewing or researching the product online. In addition 65 percent have done the opposite and purchased an item on retailer's website after viewing it in the store or catalog.

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Google Adds Store Locator Feature to Product Search

Google has launched a feature in Google Product Search for users to find merchants who have store locations. This means that people searching with Google Product Search will be able to get more information about the nearest store locations for a particular merchant.

"A few days ago, a friend of mine needed to get a protective sleeve for her brand-new laptop," says Paul Lee, Google Product Search Business Manager. "She found an online retailer, but didn't want to damage her laptop while waiting for the sleeve to ship. So she used Google Maps to find the retailer's nearest store location, and got her sleeve the same day. She's not alone - most shopping still occurs in-store, where you can interact with items in person, pick up bulky products, and avoid shipping charges."

According to Lee, this story was the inspiration for the feature. It's not going to be anything overly exciting for people who turn to Google Maps to find local businesses, but it is an added convenience when it comes to Product Search.

Google says they will be refining the feature over the next few weeks, though what this refining entails is not clear.

Retailers who use Google Product Search would do well to submit their local store information, if they have not already done so. It just may drive some extra business. Instructions for submitting can be found here.

Google also encourages sellers to submit the "online only" attribute so that Google knows which items are only for sale online, and are not stocked in stores.