2012 MarketLive Survey Reveals Mobile Devices to be Used Heavily for Research, Purchases and Cross-channel Connections this Holiday Season

PETALUMA, Calif., Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MarketLive, Inc., the leading provider of multichannel commerce technology and services solutions, today released the results of its 4^th Annual "Mindset of a Multi-Channel Shopper" survey. The report gives retailers timely insights into the rapidly changing arena of shopping online (including increasingly via mobile devices), as well as strategies to help merchants prioritize and improve ROI as they head into the holidays, the most crucial time of the year for their business.    

Several of the survey's key findings include:

• In 2012, customers will spend about the same amount on holiday gifts as last year—but a greater share of that spending will be online.

Of the more than 1,000 shoppers surveyed, 33% said they will do 'All' or 'Most' of their shopping on the Internet this holiday season. That's a significant jump from last year's 25%.

• Mobile will be used heavily for researching deals, making purchases and connecting with merchants across channels.

The survey revealed that 16% of consumers plan to do 'All' or 'Most' of their shopping via a smartphone or tablet this holiday season—that's up from just 3% who planned to shop via mobile device last year. And 29% (up from 12% in 2011) said they'll use their mobile phone to research gifts prior to a store visit.  Also, 43% of the shoppers surveyed said they are 'Very' or 'Somewhat' likely to use their mobile devices for redeeming coupons when making an in-store purchase, a great example of shoppers connecting channels.

• Value is the key that will drive purchase decisions.

When asked about the most important factors in choosing merchants to shop online this season, 'Good Value' was number one with 87% of the shoppers saying that value was 'Most' or 'Somewhat' important. Price came in second, with 85%.

Across the board, shoppers placed more importance on the reasons they shop online than they did last year. Saving money, locating hard-to-find products, and saving time ranked as the most important reasons for shopping online for the majority of shoppers. However, shoppers are also placing more importance than ever on:

• Online peer recommendations/reviews (45% of shoppers said these are 'Very' or 'Somewhat Important' this year as opposed to 34% last year).
• Finding more personalized gifts (50% of shoppers said this was a 'Very' or 'Somewhat Important' reason for buying online, versus only 41% last year).

"Given what we now know about how people will shop this season, according to the shoppers themselves," said Ken Burke, founder and chairman of MarketLive, "retailers should be asking themselves:

• How can I better optimize my brand for m-commerce?
• How can I better garner consumer interest via social media?
• How can I improve my value proposition and execution?"

"At MarketLive," said Burke, "we partner with our clients to ensure they are on the receiving end when the holiday sales revenue begins to build."

In its fourth year, the "Mindset of a Multi-Channel Shopper" survey was commissioned by MarketLive and conducted by the e-tailing group. It has become the go-to resource for an increasing number of merchants who want to improve their sales in the quickly changing world of internet sales (and specifically sales via mobile devices).

More on these results plus other valuable information for merchants (such as when consumers plan to do most of their holiday shopping, what kind of emails they will respond to, and how social media will play into shopping decisions) is available. The report comes complete with MarketLive recommendations for capitalizing on this strategic holiday information for businesses.

About MarketLive
Since 1995, MarketLive, Inc. (www.marketlive.com) has provided world class eCommerce technology and expert services that help fast-growing companies successfully sell goods and services across multiple channels.

Designed to meet the unique requirements of catalogers, retailers, direct marketers, and manufacturers, the extensible MarketLive® eCommerce Suite and MarketLive's best practices-based Intelligent Selling® methodology enable merchants to enhance the customer experience online while dramatically improving acquisition, conversion, and retention rates.

MarketLive powers many leading eCommerce sites, including Peruvian Connection, Learning Resources, Sports Chalet, Jessica Simpson, Warner Brothers, Cost Plus World Market, Helzberg Diamonds, and Party City, and Armani/Exchange, to name a few. 

Contact
Maren Kelly, MarketLive Marketing Manager
[email protected]

SOURCE MarketLive, Inc.