With the 2012 Holiday shopping season officially beginning on Black Friday, consumers have begun to seek out product reviews and price comparisons in order to find the best deals for this year’s “must have” items and according to recent market research conducted by Adobe, search engines and social media will be the most effective tools for shoppers this season.

Graphic courtesy of Adobe Digital Index

The Adobe study indicates that 2012 will break retail records in its final months, with $2 billion in sales forecasted for Cyber Monday alone and a total of $96 billion in online sales expected between now and the end of December.  The driving forces behind these huge numbers are search engines and social media.  With an estimated 24% of all holiday sales coming from mobile devices, it is apparent that tablets and smartphones will also play an instrumental role in sales this season and going forward.

Surprisingly, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not the only significant days for shoppers this season.  Free Shipping Day, which takes place on Dec. 17th this year, is expected to generate millions in last-minute sales for online retailers.

With millions of shoppers worldwide using Web search, social media and mobile devices this year, it is crucial for retailers to enhance their online presence and visibility in order to capitalize on what looks to be the biggest season in retail history.  This season will also be important to SEOs, as various retailers will increase their emphasis on Internet marketing initiatives in order to gain more traction online and compete with retail giants on the Web.

Have you read Dan Heinkel’s recent post about Holiday shopping apps?  If not, check it out here and as always, feel free to reach out to me at brymshaw@webimax.com or on Twitter: @brwebimax.