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SAMEER SAMAT: Last holiday season, we saw some
differences in consumer behavior that I think we're
going to see continue in 2010.
So one big thing is mobile.
There was a Deloitte study that was done that said one
out of five consumers are actually using their
smartphone devices in their shopping today.
And personally, that matches my experience when I've been
in the store.
That's going to accelerate.
Smartphone sales are now expected to eclipse PC sales
by next year, or perhaps the year after.
That's incredible.
These devices are getting more powerful.
They have eyes.
They can see.
They can hear.
They are with you at all times.
And consumers are finding value in applications like
ShopSavvy, RedLaser, Google Shopper.
These are apps you can download that make you a more
powerful shopper.
I think that retailers definitely need to be prepared
for a world where consumers can not only cross the channel
of online and offline and access your website in the
store, but also they should try to optimize that
experience and differentiate based upon that.
That's a big thing you'll see this holiday season.
I think the other thing you'll see this holiday season is
people starting their shopping earlier.
We did a survey where we asked users when they're actually
beginning to get out there and look for their holiday gifts.
And what we're seeing is people are beginning that
process much earlier.
And I can't really say exactly why, but if I had to guess, it
has to do with the climate and the environment.
And I think they're looking to find the best deals, and
they're looking to find them when they can.
And they're being more conscious about taking that
extra effort to be looking.
Because they don't want to get stuck December 1, and they
haven't bought any of those gifts, and then they're
subject to whatever deals they can find at that time.
So it's a much more conscious consumer that's taking more
time and is being more thoughtful about the way
they're shopping for this holiday season.
For consumers, it isn't I'm in the store, no I'm at home on
my netbook.
It's I'm shopping.
And so the ways in which these things come together, today at
least, the simple things that users are doing is they're
using barcode scanners on their phones to look for
prices, and make sure they're getting a good deal.
They're using that same barcode scanner or image
recognition technology in the phone to look up
reviews for that item.
Personally, we recently bought a
dishwasher, a major purchase.
Went into the store, got a lot of great
advice from the salesman.
Also got a lot of great advice from their website where
people in my same situation had actually posted reviews on
those items. Tremendously helpful when I'm in the moment
trying to make a decision.
And then finally, we find that a lot of users are actually
flocking to new marketing vehicles.
Things like Foursquare and other location-based services
that allow you to actually connect with that physical
presence and check in, or mention that you're there.
And there's a social dynamic to this as well.
So again, it's the sort of the offline world catching up with
the way we live our lives anyway, and allowing you to
create that same experience of you calling your friend and
saying, hey, I just saw this really great deal.
Now you can tweet about it or post a Google
Buzz about it or whatever.
And I think that that's something new that I think
retailers should be prepared for.