Black Friday sales 2011: New record for mobile shopping?

Black Friday sales 2011 will lure 60 million consumers to shop with their mobile devices, a new study says. A third will make a mobile purchase during the weekend of Black Friday sales 2011.

Ernest Coleman/The Enquirer/AP/File

Shoppers at EastGate Mall in Cincinnati wait with purchases during Black Friday last year. Black Friday sales 2011 could cause a record number of Americans to use their mobile devices to shop, a new study says.

By Ned Smith BusinessNewsDaily Senior Writer

Nov. 17, 2011, 10:57 a.m. ET

The turkey carcass won’t be the only thing picked over during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. A new study shows that this will be the biggest year yet for mobile shopping in the US during the weekend of Black Friday sales 2011, including Cyber Monday, with an estimated 60 million consumers planning on using their mobile devices to shop over the holiday weekend. More than a third (36 percent) of those mobile users — 21 million — intend to make purchases directly from their mobile handsets.

The roar of mobile commerce will reach its crescendo on Cyber Monday — a day dedicated to online shopping — as 42 percent of mobile shoppers plan to use mobile devices to shop or research sales whole on the move, according to a study of holiday mobile shopping by InMobi, an independent mobile ad network.

Price comparison shopping on mobile devices will more than double to 45 percent, up from 22 percent last year, according to the study, which polled 907 U.S. mobile users on their devices. The data is representative of all major mobile platforms, including Android and iOS.

Nearly three out of ten (29 percent) of mobile users will use their devices to learn about new products or services, 27 percent will use their phone when making a purchasing decision and 15 percent of shoppers will use their mobile devices to make a purchase while in a store.

"The study highlights that mobile is cannibalizing desktop shopping and shows that mobile devices will be a critical tool in all facets of shopping this holiday season," said Anne Frisbie, InMobi's vice president and managing director for North America. "It will be ubiquitous both in store and online, and successful brands and advertisers have a tremendous opportunity to differentiate themselves by creating an exceptional mobile experience. The clear upward trend to mobile shopping further empowers the consumer. Savvy shoppers price check products in-store, putting added pressure on brick-and-mortar retailers to remain competitive."

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