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Now that Halloween is just around the corner, it’s time to ensure you are app-solutely ready for the influx of holiday shoppers.

Smartphone use during holiday shopping increased 40% from 2015 to 2016. Mobile sales grew 36% and accounted for an estimated 21% of online sales in November and December.

Mobile downloads increased 77% from October to November and mobile engagement increased 34% from October to November.

We outline 3 ways to get your app ready for holiday shoppers in this article.

Push Gift Ideas

Use Push notifications to alert holiday shoppers to new sales and make gift recommendations.

• 43% of smartphone users allow Push notifications from their app in 2017, which is 16% more than 2016.

• 63% of Millennials feel compelled to check an app notification immediately.

Tip: Each push notification should provide a succinct value for your app users. Remember, your app users are typically your most engaged shoppers, so be careful not to spam them with too many notifications

Localize Lists

How easy can shoppers create holiday shopping lists using your app? Do you have your own gift wish lists or have your own list of gift ideas?

• Less than 20% of holiday shopping trips are unplanned.

• 63% of holiday shoppers want to utilize more retailer online wish lists/registries for purchasing gifts in the future, which is almost 2/3 of all shoppers.

• The majority of holiday shoppers bought an item that a retailer recommended, with 58% of men and 51% of women more likely to do so.

Tip: Make sure both your app and website have user-friendly shopping list functions.

Creative Content

Load your app with relevant native content. For grocers, holiday recipes constitute relevant content. For hardware retailers, this could be a list of best-selling tools. Get creative with ways to appeal to holiday shoppers.

• Smartphone apps account for 50% of digital media usage time.

• Adopters of content marketing see conversion rates that are 6 times higher.

Tip: Keep your content brief, entertaining and relevant. What can you create that will inspire holiday shoppers to consider your products?