At 8:45AM on November 1st I arrived at the office, booted up my computer and heard a coworker loudly broadcast “The Starbucks Holiday Cups Are Back!!” Ah yes, it’s the time of the year when the lines at Starbucks rival those of an Apple Store.  With both a Starbucks cup and iPhone already at hand, I realized that there are few things more integral to my morning routine than my smartphone and a morning cup of coffee (okay, okay…and a shower).   

So many things remind us of the holiday season: The hanging of seasonal ornaments, the plans of travel taken to spend time with loved ones, the wafting scents of pumpkin spice, eggnog and pine. And of course, there’s those chestnuts roasting on an open fire. But there’s something new that lingers about throughout the holidays: It’s the mobile device. A lot is expected of mobile for the 2012 holiday season. A newly released study by Deloitte reports that the rising trend of mobile commerce is highly noted during the holiday season and becoming increasingly prevalent when shopping year-round.

The 2012 holiday shopping season is now in full force! Depending on your perception of the burden or blessing that is seasonal giving, expect to see another few weeks of joyous (or hellish) deal hunting across these final weeks of the year. While many holiday shoppers may have kept with the tradition of scarfing down Thanksgiving dinner early to strategize a plan of attack for in-store holiday deals, a notable number are looking for a less-crowded, no-wait digital option.

In case you missed it here is a great article related to consumer frustrations at the frequency of Apple product releases, by Heather Somerville from the Mercury News.  In the article, Heather begins to capture the fatigue associated with maintaining ‘early adopter’ status, as well as the disappointment of consumers who have to pony-up repeatedly to maintain their place at the top of the pyramid.

Was 2012 the “Year of Mobile” as many players in the space have preached, promised and prayed it would be? While I’m not thrilled to say it, it probably wasn’t. Mobile advertising remains nestled in a space of spending limbo in the grand scheme of noted brands’ advertising budget. Like a tireless, broken record, advocates aim to shift advertiser’s perceptions with a variation of these words: Mobile consumption remains one of the most frequently used media channels that many advertisers barely or rarely allocate budget for.