We’re excited about the way that mobile technology is transforming industries, ranging from vacation rentals, magazines, local business discovery, music, and alumni relations. In the spirit of Cyber Monday, we’re going to take a look at how mobile trends are shaping the 2010 holiday shopping season. If you’re not familiar with Cyber Monday, check out this summary from the team at BostInnovation.
Last week, IDC Retail Insights announced the results of a survey highlighting the growing impact of mobile devices on traditional shopping. The punchline: consumers who are active smartphone users during their shopping experiences will account for 28% of this year’s expected holiday sales. That equates to approximately $127 billion!
So who are the players leading the mobile charge? Without a doubt, Foursquare and Facebook Places have received the most media attention. Locally, our pals at Peekaboo Mobile have delivered our team very good deals via their location-based mobile coupon system. For example, right now I can get a $9.95 sandwich from Nick Varano’s Famous Deli in Boston’s North End for just $5. There are no check-ins and no badges – just great deals! You can download their app for free in iTunes, or access their deals through their distribution partnership with Where’s mobile app.
Providence-based Bakodo and founder Andres Douglas have developed a very fun (and free!) “bar code search engine” app that makes it very easy to quickly scan a product and conduct mobile comparison shopping.
Boston’s own Fox 25 has aired several good segments relating to the impact increasing smartphone adoption and mobile apps are having on holiday sales. Here is a recent interview with Ben Dolgoff, Co-Founder of Peekaboo, and here is an interview featuring IDC’s Greg Girard.
Ever True!
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