NEW YORK—This holiday shopping season is turning out like no other we have previously witnessed.
Smartphones, e-book readers, and tablet computers are fast becoming the holiday gifts of choice—replacing large electronics and digital cameras—and consumers are increasingly taking advantage of such technology, making more purchases using mobile devices, social networking, and the Internet.
Such trends, coupled with an economy in which many households still struggle to pay their bills, are prompting retailers to ramp up holiday promotions earlier than ever—on the Internet, not in stores.
Some of the biggest retailer networks have expanded their promotions online, starting with free shipping. For the consumer this means less schlepping, more browsing.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant, is offering free shipping on around 60,000 holiday-related products on its website. Items affected include video games, jewelry, and electronics, according to the company. The promotion will run through Dec. 20.
Its rival Target Corp. just raised the stakes. It announced its biggest free-shipping event ever, according to a statement from the company, via its Target.com website. From Nov. 21 to Dec. 11, Target plans to offer free shipping on more than 600,000 items including toys, furniture, appliances, and décor items.
“This year we have enhanced that [online] experience by quadrupling the number of items eligible for free shipping,” declared Steve Eastman, president of Target.com in a statement.
Traditionally, Black Friday, or the Friday after Thanksgiving Thursday, is the biggest in-store shopping event of the year. The following Monday—dubbed Cyber Monday—is usually the biggest online shopping day of the year, with many online retailers offering their steepest discounts.
But the Minneapolis, Minn.-based Target is upping the ante this year. Taking advantage of closed stores on Thanksgiving Day, Target is pre-empting Cyber Monday by offering an exclusive online sales event on Thanksgiving Day, one day prior to Black Friday. Shoppers will find electronics at up to 50 percent off, including cameras, Blu-ray players, and television sets, Target says.
J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, and other retailers have announced similar offers.
Purchasing Goes Mobile
The advent of smartphones and sophisticated mobile application (apps) has created a new market for mobile shopping.
A recent survey by the Mobile Marketing Association and Luth Research found that around 59 percent of U.S. mobile phone users plan to use their phones for shopping and holiday event planning, and adults between the age of 25 and 34 are most likely to use such features.
“Holiday shoppers are always in a time crunch, and in this economy, they’re in a budget crunch, too,” said Jacqueline Rosales, executive vice president at Luth Research, in a press statement. “Both of these factors have them relying on their mobile phones more than ever as a tool for finding bargains, the right gift, and the quickest way to get to a particular merchant.”
National toy chain Toys ‘R’ Us has added mobile bar code scanners to all 847 Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us stores in the United States to scan mobile coupons and e-gift cards.
General Growth Properties, a commercial real estate trust that develops shopping malls nationally, released a mobile apps for the iOS and Android-based smartphones to allow consumers to look up sales, view maps, and win prizes at participating mall locations. General Growth launched the apps for around 160 malls it manages across the country.
TV shopping network QVC also launched an apps for the Apple iPad tablet computer to allow consumers to watch QVC live, browse daily specials, check reviews, and purchase items directly.
Be Social and Shop
The popularity and viral marketing effectiveness of online social networking has caught retailers’ eyes.
This week, Sears Holdings Corp. announced e-gifting via Facebook, the popular online social network.
Facebook users can purchase Sears and Kmart gift cards in $5 increments (up to $25) and post them onto other Facebook members’ wall, a virtual space on a Facebook user’s profile to leave messages or comments.
“eGift Social enhances Sears and Kmart customers’ shopping experience directly within our digital communities,” said Susan Ehrlich, president of Sears Holdings Financial Services. Sears is the first company to launch a Facebook gifting program, and other retailers are expected to follow in the near future.
Internet savvy shoppers are also expected to use social coupon sites such as Groupon, which offers daily deals if enough people sign up for the service. Groupon and its partner merchants rely on users to spread the word via e-mail and social networking.
Groupon’s business model has been so successful that it spawned a green alternative social coupon website called ethicalDeal, which is much like Groupon but with an environmental focus.
