A study from Sprout Social suggests that there has been a 24 per cent increase in the proportion of people who start their journey towards making a purchase via safe shopping online from their smartphones in the last 12 months, according to Internet Retailing.

Furthermore, analysts found that 58 per cent of people take heed of social media posts when they are deciding whether or not to invest in a particular product or service, which shows the power of sites like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter from a marketing perspective.

This works in both directions, with retailers not only expected to engage more with customers on social media but also to receive an influx of additional messages that come from people looking for advice, guidance, post-sale support and other important interactions.

As more people use their mobiles to search for products and complete purchases, there is a growing expectation that this type of experience will be well optimised and thoroughly rewarding. This means that if retailers do not live up to the high standards set by many shoppers, they could risk losing customers during a peak period of the year.

Maximising the impact of social media for promotional purposes is clearly challenging, especially as the most avid users of this type of service will have their feeds flooded with promotional posts and context in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Even so, there is a major opportunity for companies to stand out from the crowd and cater to people who are primarily interested in ordering online from their smartphone.

Black Friday will once again be a significant date in the calendar for retailers looking to court mobile-first consumers, although there are opinions that the growth of this event has hit a plateau.