The lines of people waiting to grab Black Friday “Doorbuster” deals seem to start earlier and earlier every year, but there’s a growing trend of people that are deciding to forgo the Black Friday crowds and lines and get most of their deals online. Bloomberg finds that online holiday sales will grow by as much as 15% this year, which would be better than triple the total sales gain of 3.9% (according to the National Retail Federation). Key in this trend is the growth of mobile shopping over the last year. Shopping on mobile devices in the third quarter of 2013 grew twice as fast as desktop online spending. In fact, August marked the first time ever that users spent more time engaging with retailers via mobile devices than on desktops. I wouldn’t look for that trend to change. In fact, one third of ALL monthly traffic for leading major retailers comes from mobile devices. Shoppers today are looking to engage immediately and on the go. Be sure that your small business has a mobile solution ready to give your customers the experience they are looking for.

Cyber Monday Every Day as iPhone Users Shun Retail Stores – Bloomberg