Santa Meets Cyber: Surprising Trends for the 2017 Holiday Season [Infographic]

Good or bad, traditions and the holiday season go hand-in-hand.

Baking cookies, hanging lights, or if you're like me, belting out Mariah's "All I Want for Christmas is You" while stuck in traffic --  Some things are timeless. They never change and we love that about them.  

Unfortunately for marketers and salespeople alike, buyer behavior is not one of these things. 

Thanks to technology and the Internet, what we shop for during the holidays, as well as how we shop for it, is far from traditional. 

As digital marketers, we know this.

More people are shopping from the comfort of their couches and mobile devices, turning to social media for customer service, and even using search engines to discover the perfect gift.

Businesses, in response, are investing heavily in "retail holidays" like Cyber Monday, showering their contacts with coupon codes, and offering in-store pickup of online purchases. 

In this recent infographic, Boostability shares dozens of statistics and facts around these shifts as well as some of what we can expect from marketers this season.

Here are some of its highlights:

• 21% of online holiday sales will be from a mobile device
• The #1 reason consumers shop online is to avoid crowds
• 56% of people shop online to find better deals
• 3 biggest factors that influence an online purchase are: free shipping, price, and return policy.
• From 2015 to 2016, searches for "cool gift" grew 80%. "Best gift" grew by 75%, while "unique gift" grew by 65%.
• 65% of people surveyed reported contacting customer support via social media

Check out the full infographic below!