Mobile Marketing

IBM’s Coremetrics Benchmark report says that mobile retail traffic will more than double this holiday season. During this year’s November holiday season, an unprecedented 15 percent of people in the U.S. logging onto a retailer’s website are expected to do so through a mobile device, says IBM.

Paul Fredrick announced the launch of a smartphone-optimized website that creates a rich and unique mobile shopping experience for consumers whether at home or on the go.

H&M is using mobile to drive fashion-savvy consumers to its in-store locations to be the first to buy pieces from the upcoming Versace collection. The retailer is running mobile banner ads within Pandora to promote the new campaign.

Office Depot announced the release of a new Android app designed specifically for its business account customers. The Office Depot Business Solutions mobile application is now available for free download on the Android Market.

This year, the majority of phones sold in the U.S. were smartphones. Last year, smartphones and tablets outsold PCs globally. While it took 15 years for e-commerce to reach 5 percent of retail sales, Hilding Anderson, senior manager of research and insight at SapientNitro, says mobile will be at that level in three to five years.

Mobile usage in retail is on the rise. Every year we see an increasing number of shopping queries originate from mobile phones. As mobile continues to proliferate, it’s also fundamentally changing the way people shop. Mobile and shopping are made for each other. 

For the past few years, retailers have been refining their mobile offerings in advance of the holiday season. Keeping up with consumer demand has meant providing pricing information, product specifications and customer reviews to mobile users — all leading reasons why last year’s holiday shoppers turned to mobile.

AdamAndEve.com, the award-winning site of adult industry giant Adam & Eve, has announced the launch of its mobile website, compatible with iPhone and Android devices.

Wal-Mart is launching a Facebook app that customizes marketing for each of its nearly 3,600 U.S. stores, allowing tailored communications about local deals, events or limited-distribution products. Eventually, Wal-Mart also hopes to use the My Local Walmart app to grow its site-to-store e-commerce program and evolve it into an individualized marketing program.