Mobile commerce is growing three times faster than overall e-commerce. Amazon and other online giants are using powerful site search, merchandising, shipping and other strategies to lure and convert shoppers. It's a fiercely competitive landscape for online merchants looking to clinch sales during the 2015 Holiday Season. SLI Systems, a worldwide e-commerce provider for mid-to-large size Internet retailers, today released survey findings that shed light on U.S. e-commerce leaders' top strategies for competing, as well as expectations for mobile this season.

Survey Highlights:

Competing with Amazon, Other E-commerce Giants – Online retailers are looking most to e-mail marketing as their TOP strategy for better competing with Amazon, Walmart, Target or other e-commerce giants.

• E-mail marketing (30%)

• Optimized site search (19%)

• Paid ads (14%)

• More promotions or deeper discounting (14%)

• Free shipping (14%)

• Other (9%)

Change in Mobile Device Use This Holiday Season – A massive 81% of e-commerce leaders surveyed expect mobile device use during the 2015 Holiday Season to increase, compared to the 2014 Holiday Season. Nineteen percent feel use will stay about the same.

Mobile E-Commerce Sales This Holiday – When asked what percent of their sales are expected to come from mobile devices during the 2015 Holiday Season, a collective 43% of e-commerce professionals see the volume exceeding 30%. Approximately 31% of respondents forecast "up to 15%."

• 16 - 30% of sales from mobile (26%)

• 31 - 45% of sales from mobile (32%)

• 46 - 60% of sales from mobile (8%)

• More than 60% (3%)

The Mobilegeddon Factor – In April 2015, Google expanded its mobile-friendliness ranking signal that rewards mobile-friendly sites with higher search rankings and demotes those that fail its test. SLI asked "To what extent did 'Mobilegeddon' affect your site's mobile search ranking?" and found the impact has been equally divided. Exactly half of the e-commerce leaders selected "no impact," while 41% cited "somewhat," and 9% felt their sites were "greatly" impacted.

"Online merchants plan to use a variety of proven methods and retail technologies to compete with e-commerce giants this holiday," stated Tim Callan, CMO, SLI Systems. "In addition to selecting the strategies offered in the survey, several industry leaders noted that they'll boost SEO, offer unique or exclusive products, deliver personalized or content-rich experiences or implement loyalty programs."