UK Shoppers Getting Ready For A Mobile Christmas

With Christmas not that far away, market researchers are already rushing to gauge consumers’ shopping plans for the holiday season to give brands a hint of what to expect this winter and help them better devise their seasonal campaigns.

According to a research I recently read, brand performance this Christmas will be influenced by activity coming from users of mobile devices, which suggests that one of the best approaches for companies to follow this winter is to ensure that mobile consumers are included in their target audience.

After polling 2,000 online consumers recently, eDigitalResearch and IMRG found that 64% of those planning to shop from their smartphones this Christmas will spend more on buying items than in 2012. Overall, 44% of respondents claim they plan to purchase items on their Christmas shopping list via mobiles.

The Internet will be a Christmas shopping hub for 96% of the panel, with 48% saying they will do at least half of their Christmas shopping on the web.

eDigitalResearch and IMRG further established that a quarter of consumers will shop online this Christmas, as the experience the Internet delivers is better during this season thanks to the higher number of special offers and broader variety of product discounts available.

However, the increasing engagement that consumers have with online retailers has been to the detriment of brick-and-mortar stores. This is evident from the responses of 42% of consumers stating that their in-store experience has worsened. The main factors which trigger a reluctance of to go to the high street at Christmas are crowded stores, low numbers of personnel to help with requests and having to queue.