Performics: Mobile To Drive Almost 20% Of Paid Search Clicks In December

Performics is anticipating mobile to be a significant platform in holiday shopping for US consumers. The firm said that “Google search clicks from mobile devices are now 14.2 percent of all search clicks.” Performics expects the paid clicks coming from mobile to grow to 17.3 percent this December.

For its part, Google has projected that “44 percent of total searches for last minute gifts and store locator terms will be from mobile devices this holiday season.”

Performics also believes that tablets (iPad) will play a significant role in search and shopping this holiday season:

The wild card this year will be increased tablet usage.  We think that tablets could show incredibly strong search share over the Cyber Stretch and at least mirror desktop’s day-level seasonality, very possibly outpacing it.  Tablets continued to grow—up from 34.3% of all mobile search clicks in August to 35.8% in September.

The volume of clicks/paid clicks coming from smartphones and tablets should dramatically pick up around “Black Friday” and continue through the end of the holiday shopping season, according to Performics’ estimates.

Whether the specific figures and projections Performics makes are precisely correct is beside the point. Mobile is becoming a very significant influence on consumer behavior and marketers must have an optimized presence and mobile search strategy.

A separate “social shopping” study released today by Performics showed the various in-store use cases for mobile. Price comparison search, deals/coupons and product reviews are the top actions or categories.

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.