It seems like smartphones is not just getting stronger in terms of sales, but in terms of usage when it comes to holiday shopping. One couldn't deny how smartphones has now become a must have device since the past years.

The trend has grown and since it boomed, it is expected that due to this sudden boost of popularity and usage, people are anticipated to do their online shopping more likely on their mobile device rather than their desktop computers or laptops.

According to IBM Watson, it was expected that during the five day start to what is typically the busiest shopping period of the year, the total mobile traffic will reach up to 56.9% compared to last year's 48.5%. Online mobile sales are also expected to be up from 27% last year to 36.1%.

The surge in traffic and sales may be attributed to the retailer's improvement or upgrade of their mobile apps plus the additional deals and coupons they have thrown in to make their costumer's mobile shopping would feel it is worth their time. Another reason could be the fact that consumers nowadays have conveniently adapted browsing items on smartphone screens.

The screen sizes of mobile devices have also become larger than its former predecessors so one can't say that smartphone screens are too small. There are also digital wallets and apps that let shoppers store their payment information which is convenient especially for those who are always on the go and doesn't have enough time to sort out through all those details.

For this season, the National Retail Federation - a trade group for storeowners expect the industry wide sales to be up to 3.7 percent from the months of November to December; a bit less compared to last year which is 4.1 percent. While on the other hand, Forrester predicted that online figures will get stronger and a rise of up to 11 % will be expected, most of this could be attributed to mobile sales.

Mobile shopping has still a bit of issues like sluggish apps, hard to navigate mobile web sites, and security concerns. But according to Forrester Research Analyst Sucharita Mulpuru, the main factor that is hard to beat when users do smartphone shopping is the convenience that it gives them.

Even if the retailers laments their low conversion rates and the slow download speed of these phones, consumers will still continue doing their shopping through their phones. They might even appear to be more tolerant of the problems it has just because of the convenience it affords them.