Digby, which provides multichannel mobile commerce and engagement for more than 50 top retail brands, says it saw significant year-on-year growth across all important mobile retail metrics through its clients’ mobile websites and rich apps during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.

More and more, the company says, consumers are becoming comfortable using retailers’ mobile-optimized websites and rich apps for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices. It makes it easy for them to search, browse and buy, to find the closest retail location and also when in the store to scan products to see product details, ratings and reviews, and product videos. This new paradigm, says Digby, is completely transforming how retailers engage with consumers to drive sales, increase customer loyalty and learn through mobile analytics to serve them better.

Comparing 2010 and 2011 results, year-over-year highlights across select merchants hosted on the Digby Mobile Software Platform included:

• Mobile Commerce Sales increased by up to 684 per cent, with an average increase of 204 per cent
• Store Locator Visits increased by up to 2,042 per cent, with an average increase of 1,506 per cent
• Average Order Value was as high as $228 with the average being $102
• Unique Visitors increased by up to 218 per cent, with an average increase of 147 per cent

“Multichannel mobile engagement for top retailers went through the roof this holiday season, as shoppers en masse used their smartphones as a shopping companion when at home, when mobile or when in the store,” says Digby president and CEO, Dave Sikora. “It proves out the multichannel nature of mobile, and we expect these significant growth rates to continue throughout the holiday season and into next year, as mobile is rapidly becoming the way that consumers engage with their favourite brands across all channels.”

Digby’s specific retail metrics support overall industry predictions for the holiday weekend as InMobi forecast that almost 60m consumers will have shopped on their phones on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. PayPal predicted that 67 per cent of consumers plan to make a purchase via mobile this holiday season.