• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, September 13, 2018

Google published research on Thursday showing that 61% of shoppers are open to buying from new retailers during the holiday season -- and during the 2017 holiday season, nearly half of shoppers did.

Trends in mobile searches for “brands like” and “stores like” have grown over 60% in the past two years. Some searches include names like Patagonia or Victoria's Secret, but ones that are less expensive.

About 76% of holiday shoppers 18 years of age or older use three or more channels to search for specific or like products.

More are shopping on mobile too. In the past two years, searches for “shopping app” rose 90%, while searches for “online shopping” has grown 180% in that same period.

In fact, people are always shopping. Only about 13% of shoppers consolidate all of their shopping to Black Friday-to-Cyber Monday weekend, and by the Black Friday Cyber Monday period, shoppers have already completed 42% of their holiday shopping.

So Google suggests making it personal even during holiday shopping. Some four in 10 holiday shoppers want retailers to remember personal details such as past sizes and items they have purchased.

Last holiday season, shoppers said half of all their online purchases were made on their smartphone, per Google. Smartphone users are significantly more likely now than a year ago to purchase from companies whose mobile sites or apps allow them to make purchases quickly.

Another notable finding is that last-minute shoppers are less loyal to their favorite stores, with one in three admitting they choose where to buy the gift based on timing.