The Rise of Mobile Continues this Holiday Season

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(Newswire.net — November 16, 2015) — Eight years ago, the first iPhone was unveiled to the masses. Some noticed its revolutionary potential while others spouted such comments as:

  • “Touch screen buttons? BAD idea. This thing will never work.”
  • “Steve…where is my FM radio?”
  • “I’m not impressed with the iPhone. As a PDA user and a Windows Mobile user, this thing has nothing on my phone… No thanks Apple. Make a real PDA please.”

As we approach 2016, it’s become a smartphone world. These stats from Experian help paint the picture:

  • 33.7 percent of people access the Internet more often through a mobile device than through a computer, up from 24 percent the year before.
  • 53 percent of consumers ages 18 to 34 report they use their phone more often than a computer to go online.
  • 35 percent of all visits to websites came from mobile devices during the week ending October 17, 2015.
  • 49.6 million people (almost 1 in 3 U.S. adult smartphone owners) say they use their device “often” to find deals while they shop. The previous year, only 28 percent of smartphone owners said the same thing.
  • Searches that include phrases like “near me” or “nearby,” which are especially likely to be used by consumers in such instances, increased 1.8 times during the past year alone.

Retailers are taking notice. Fashion retailer Alexandani.com created a highly visual mobile app in response to 50-60 percent of their traffic coming from mobile. Express, DirectBuy, Newegg, Office Depot and Essential Hardware all redesigned or launched mobile experiences in anticipation of the holidays. Furthermore. this infographic from Cabela’s illustrates how customers can complete the entire holiday shopping process with just their smartphone and pick up the hottest gift of the year — a drone.