Survey: More holiday shoppers to use social media, mobile this year

New York City Digital advancements continue to drive a new approach to shopping, with social media and mobile phones emerging as key influencers this holiday season, according to Deloitte’s 24th Annual Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends.

Social media is gaining traction with almost one out of five (17%) consumers planning to use social media during their holiday shopping, and among those, three out of five (60%) plan to use social media to find discounts, coupons and sale information. More than half intend to use social media to research gift ideas (53%), while 52% plan to check the gift wish lists of friends and family.

Consumers in all age groups plan to embrace social media over the holidays. While more than half (52%) of those who expect to use social media during the shopping process are in the 18-29 years old age group, one-third (33%) are in the 30-44 years old age group and one in 10 (12%) are in the 45-60 years old age group.

The mobile phone is another emerging digital tool for the holidays and is expected to be used by nearly one in five consumers (19%) to assist with their holiday shopping. Those consumers plan to find store locations (55%), research prices (45%), find product information (40%), get discounts and coupons (32%) and read reviews (31%). One in four (25%) even expect to make a holiday purchase with their phone.

It’s no surprise that the Internet ranks as a top shopping destination and continues to grow at a steady pace. More than one in five (22%) consumers anticipate they will shop primarily online this year and many are using the Internet to find special offers, with 44% of shoppers expecting to use a coupon they obtained online.

The number of consumers seeking out green retailers and eco-friendly products remains steady with last year’s findings, as one in five said they plan to purchase more eco-friendly products this holiday season (20%) and shop at more 'green' (environmentally responsible) retailers (18%) than they did in the past. Almost half (47%) are willing to pay more for a green gift and more than one third (36%) are willing to pay 5% to 10% more.