As retailers gear up for a Black Friday that will transpire as a fragile US economy begins showing signs of a promising rebound, mobile marketers are finding themselves with much to be thankful for, as a record number of holiday advertising campaigns are finding their way to a mobile outlet.
A new survey from Accenture shows that approximately 70% of shoppers anticipate completing the bulk of their holiday shopping by Dec. 7, an increase of 10% from 2008. Shoppers also plan to turn out in larger numbers this year for Black Friday – 52% vs. 42% last year.
Where mobile marketing truly proves itself a vital factor in a day predominantly thought of as an occasion where shoppers leave their computers to hit physical stores is that 86% of would-be holiday shoppers in the Accenture survey say they will only turn out for sales that offer at least a 20% discount on merchandise. Consequently, a flurry of mobile coupons will be pumped out to the masses between now and Black Friday to ensure that shoppers know they will get the deals they demand.
Historically, Cyber Monday has existed as a means to clean up after Black Friday’s shortcomings, but this year’s official post-Thanksgiving holiday-shopping kick-off could prove a hybrid shopping event that fuses the mobile and physical shopping experiences together like never before witnessed.
Although it isn’t yet clear how many shoppers will turn out for Black Friday, the deals will be there in force.