Santa Goes Mobile this Holiday Season

Holiday shopping reports show that sales are going mobile like never before.  When comparing the number of mobile transactions between 2009 and 2010, we find there is a rapid increase in shopping from mobile devices.  Retail is just one of many markets being revolutionized by mobile applications.

PayPal reported a 300 percent increase in online sales this holiday season compared to 2009, and a 27 percent increase in mobile transactions on Black Friday alone.  Total mobile sales are expected to double to $3.4 billion from $1.4 billion in 2009.  There is still time for more mobile shopping before Christmas that will make these numbers even more impressive.

The continued popularity and record sales of iPhones and iPads, plus the explosive growth of Android powered devices this year has added fuel to the growth in mobile shopping.

Making mobile shopping even easier, Google has released a mobile shopping search tool called Mobile Product Search for iPhones and Android devices that allows easy shopping for specific products.  After performing a search, shoppers click on products such as electronics or video games and they'll see ratings and technical specifications.  Google Product Search for mobile will make finding the right products faster and easier.

"Mobile commerce has the potential to change the entire marketplace, because it makes comparative shopping so much easier."  Diego Vasquez

Smartphone shopping applications have had a major impact this holiday season.  From True Religion Jeans to Nextag, mobile retailing applications have made purchasing specific brands as easy as a tap of your finger. Reports show that mobile retailing application usage has increased 249 percent in the past 12 months.

Smartsoft Mobile Solutions is an SAP services partner, and they specialize in mobile retailing applications.

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Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst
Phone +1 208-991-4410
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join SAP Enterprise Mobility on Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2823585&trk=anet_ug_grppro Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant, mobility analyst, writer and Web 2.0 marketing professional. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.