Lately, we’ve been beating the mobile drum pretty loudly. A few weeks ago, we announced our new SLI Mobile solution to help retailers quickly create a mobile version of their websites. And just last week, we announced that one of our customers – Century Novelty – worked with us to create its mobile site in a matter of days, in order to capture the growing numbers of mobile shoppers the company was already seeing.

Some in the industry think it’s just too early for companies to be worrying about mobile. That’s not our take, based on the experience many of our customers have had in seeing a steady growth in numbers of visitors to their sites from mobile devices. As Ian MacDonald of Century Novelty explained to us, over the past year they noticed a small percentage of sales actually coming from mobile devices. The amount wasn’t significant, but it was enough that they couldn’t ignore it.

Last week, the results of a recent NRF survey on mobile shopping were published by Evan Schuman in StorefrontBacktalk, showing that our thinking is correct – as many American consumers say they expect to shop by mobile device this holiday season. According to StorefrontBacktalk, exact numbers are hard to pin down due to the possibility that respondents may not have answered the questions in the same way (e.g. some may have treated social networking recommendations or texting friends as “conducting research” while others may not have), or because some people may not think today that they’ll shop via mobile device but come December they might. Still, the data is compelling. Of 8,767 consumers surveyed, 26.8% said they would use their smartphones to either research or make a purchase during the holidays this year; and of those in the 18 to 24 age range, 45% said they would.

Evan also mentions that his site conducted a survey with Forrester Research that showed an “alarmingly high percentage of retailers (21.3%) who said they have no plans for any M-Commerce programs in the next 18 months. And almost half of those surveyed choose ‘none of these’ when asked if they allow customers through a mobile site or a dedicated application.” In our own M-commerce survey from earlier this year, we found that 80% of retailers surveyed say they have no mobile commerce strategy in place, while at the same time, 83% of those surveyed said that between 1-10% of site visitors come from mobile devices.

While the numbers vary from survey to survey, one thing is clear: there is an audience today on the mobile platform, and that audience will only continue to grow in the months ahead. Retailers who choose to sit on the sidelines until this market is more mature may miss out on an opportunity to garner more sales, and possibly lose customers along the way.

For retailers who are eager to get started but are reticent to spend a lot of time and resources on a mobile site, a solution like SLI Mobile is ideal – it can help you create a site in a week or less, with minimal involvement from your team. And the expense is nominal. If you’re hesitating, don’t. We’re ready to help you today. Contact us now.

If you haven’t yet developed a mobile version of your website, it’s time to put this task at the top of your list. The mobile device market is growing at exponential rates, and your customers are quickly becoming comfortable with buying products and content on their phones and tablets – in fact, the Coda Research Consultancy says that U.S. mobile commerce sales in 2010 will reach $2.4 billion.

To help you get up and running in this new mobile commerce world, we’ve introduced SLI Mobile, our hosted solution for creating mobile sites with fast and easy-to-use search and navigation functionality. We create the product pages for mobile sites using customer product data that we already have on hand, and we optimize the pages for mobile searching – which is very important given the limitations of browsing on mobile devices. We’re also offering thumbnail product images for fast delivery on mobile devices, and we can integrate the pages with your product rating and review solutions, as well as social media content.

We can deploy these mobile features for all of the major mobile device platforms and devices, including iPhones, BlackBerries, and Android phones. To find out more about SLI Mobile, read our press release, or contact your Customer Success Manager or our sales team at sales@sli-systems.com.

To give you even more guidance on getting ready for the mobile commerce market, we’ve just published a new white paper, Site Search and the Mobile Commerce Revolution. In it, you’ll find advice on developing your mobile commerce strategy, how to create mobile-friendly site search, and your choices for implementation. The guide is free, and can be downloaded here.

Recently we issued our first “SLI E-Retail Holiday Index,” a report on site search and shopping trends that reveals the most sought-after items in various retailing categories. The data was pulled from a sampling of our hundreds of online retail clients, in such sectors as Apparel, Jewelry, Cosmetics, Electronics, and Gifts & Novelty (see below to discover the trends). We plan to issue this data on a monthly basis during the holiday shopping season, and ongoing afterwards.

Some of the data may come as no surprise to you – like the fact that winter boots are a popular apparel item right now (you can pretty much count on that every year around this time), or that traditional diamond stud earrings and engagement rings are highly searched for in jewelry. Still, some of the data may be less obvious – like the fact “iPad” was a really popular search term in the late spring/early summer, but has since dropped off the list. (Maybe it will make a comeback as we get closer to December, but who knows?)

As you continue to develop your marketing campaigns and enhance your sites to capture the high volume of cyber traffic during the holidays, the SLI E-Retail Index might be useful to you. But perhaps more importantly, you can actually get a lot of this data yourself by looking at your own site search analytics to see what’s hot and what’s not on your own site. If you’re not already looking at this data on a regular basis, now’s the time to start!

So, without further adieu, here’s the data from our first E-Retail Index – and keep a look-out for another report next month. And if you’re still looking for ways to beef up your site for the holidays, be sure to download our free guide: “SLI Holiday Guide: 10 Steps for Preparing Your Online Retail Site Search for the Holiday” (available at usblogsli.wpengine.com/holiday-guide.php).

Women’s and Men’s Apparel
Currently, men and women are seeking the best in hoodies, cardigan sweaters and winter boots in preparation for this holiday season, whether shopping for loved ones or to enhance their own wardrobes. Silly Bandz bracelets remain a popular purchase item across many of the retail apparel and novelties stores. And, women are actively seeking out Maxi dresses, while men want the hottest looks in leather jackets.

Jewelry
The most popular trends in jewelry this season are focused on more traditional items, such as diamond stud earrings in all shapes and sizes. In October, online shoppers also sought out ruby and diamond rings and engagement rings, as well as men’s watches, from top designers such as Rolex.

Cosmetics
Online shoppers are busy looking for chemical-free and skin purifying cosmetics items this year. Products such as sulfate-free shampoo and antioxidant moisturizers are high on shopper’s lists, while make-up kits, hair extensions and eyelash growth products are also being searched for frequently. The top brands this season include Dermalogica, Bare Minerals, Ultraceuticals and Jane Iredale.

Consumer Electronics
In the area of consumer electronics, online shoppers are hot on the trail of new laptops, netbooks and all-in-one printers from brands including HP, Panasonic and Toshiba. Cameras are also a popular item from top manufacturers Canon and Nikon. Interestingly, searches for iPads were at the top of the list in June, but tapered off in July and have not gone back up.

Gifts and Novelties
Silly Bandz, hoodies, black lights, Snuggies and electronics tailor made for seniors, like the Go Computer and the Jitterbug phone, were the most popular novelty items in October. And, as consumers prepare for the holidays, items such as tablecloths and champagne glasses were also top on the list. In addition, searches for experience gifts, such as helicopter flying lessons were on the rise.