Hot off the heels of Thanksgiving weekend, Google has revealed the latest data on the impact of mobile shopping searches during Black Friday. Compared to any other day during Thanksgiving week this year, Black Friday saw the largest volume of mobile shopping searches. Thanksgiving Day came in second.
The influence of mobile shopping searches extends beyond the digital realm. According to Google, searches for in-store deals were also popular on mobile devices, with customers using mobile search as a “door-to-the-store”. This is evidenced by the fact that in-store traffic on Black Friday was up 65% over an average day in the month of November.
Google says clothing, toy, and electronic stores saw the highest uptick in foot traffic during Thanksgiving weekend. It’s interesting to see that electronic stores are still holding steady when it comes to foot traffic on Black Friday. Taking into account tech-savvy shoppers may be more inclined to stay home and buy online, it’s surprising to see electronic stores still among the most popular for in-store traffic.
Not only is in-store traffic still doing well on Black Friday, but customers are spending more time in the stores once they get there. According to Google, the average customer spent between 35 minutes and 1.5 hours in electronics stores. I wonder how much of that time was spent in the check-out line?
That comment was meant as a sarcastic quip, but with one of Google’s latest features you can actually get a live look at a store during its most popular times. Within the Popular Times feature in Google Maps, look for the “LIVE” store foot traffic, which is indicated by a pink bar.
Here is an example pulled from a Best Buy store on Black Friday, but the Google Maps LIVE feature can be used all year round:
Cyber Monday
Let’s not forget about Cyber Monday, another important day for mobile shopping searches. Google was gracious enough to provide us with some early Cyber Monday metrics, showing what people are searching for and where they’re searching from.
