Mobile devices have secured their place in the holiday shopping journey: 61% of Millennials, 50% of Gen X-ers and 32% of Boomers will use one at some point as they browse and shop for the perfect gift, according to a survey by Oath. In fact, a mobile device will be the point of sale for 40% of Millennials, 25% of Gen Xers and 11% of Boomers.
A number of shoppers will increase their direct mobile purchases this season compared to 2017: 16% of Millennials, 13% of Gen Xers and 7% of Boomers. Mobile commerce will represent 43.8% of e-Commerce this year, accounting for 5.4% of all holiday sales, according to eMarketer.
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Just 13% of shoppers plan to shop in-store only, while 19% will shop online exclusively (rising to 23% among Millennials). A majority, 62% will utilize both brick-and-mortar and e-Commerce channels. Shoppers also will use their smartphones for tasks such as comparing prices (71%), researching products (69%), discussing gift ideas (61%) and checking product reviews (55%) throughout the holiday season. Some of the most common shopper journeys include:
- Webrooming (i.e. browsing online and buying in-store): 40% of Millennials, 35% of Gen Xers and 33% of Boomers;
- Click-and-collect: 35% of Millennials, 33% of Gen Xers and 32% of Boomers;
- Showrooming (i.e. browsing in-store and buying online): 30% of Millennials, 23% of Gen Xers and 18% of Boomers;
- Ordering from mobile device: 27% of Millennials, 17% of Gen Xers and 11% of Boomers; and
- See in-store, buy at another retailer: 23% of Millennials, 17% of Gen Xers and 13% of Boomers.
Retailers should also consider shoppers’ preferred research tools across all online platforms, not just mobile:
- 47% used search;
- 27% look at email from retailers;
- 20% learned about products in articles;
- 16% saw video ads;
- 16% saw banner or display ads; and
- 15% looked at ads in news or content feeds.
