This holiday season, 13 percent of holiday shoppers are expected to use their mobile devices, according to a new study from PriceGrabber.

The PriceGrabber study looked at the ways that consumers will divide their holiday spending between online, in-store and mobile. Despite the increase, only 4 percent of consumers surveyed said they would purchase products via mobile, showing the still-important role that mobile plays with driving in-store traffic.

“This steady increase in the popularity of mobile shopping is indicative of how more consumers are recognizing the conveniences mobile shopping can offer,” said Graham Jones, general manager of PriceGrabber, Los Angeles.

“As smartphone usage inevitably becomes more common, we will not be surprised to see consumers continue to embrace mobile shopping as a go-to money and time-saving method,” he said.

Smart shopping
The PriceGrabber study surveyed 2,322 consumers in the United States from Sept. 19 to Oct. 17.

In 2010, 9 percent of consumers surveyed said they would use their mobile device to help them shop during the holiday season, which shows a 4 percent increase this year.

Additionally, last year 3 percent of consumers said they would use mobile to purchase products. With only 4 percent of consumers this year saying they will make mobile purchases for gifts, mobile commerce still is not completely up to par with consumers’ trust.

Instead, the main goal of mobile holiday shopping is to drive traffic in-store.

Forty-eight percent of consumers surveyed said they plan to shop in brick-and-mortar stores, which is down from 65 percent in 2010.

To purchase items, 33 percent of shoppers surveyed said they would buy items from stores compared to 40 percent of consumers who said they buy items from brick-and-mortar locations in 2010.

Consumers are expected to use mobile coupons this holiday season

Online shopping continues to lead the pack this holiday season with 90 percent of consumers surveyed saying that they will use the Web to shop.

Additionally, 63 percent of consumers surveyed said they would purchase holiday gifts online.

“When our survey respondents who indicated that they plan shop online or from a mobile device for gifts were asked why, the No. 1 reason that consumers cited was the ability to avoid the crowds of brick-and-mortar stores, closely followed by convenience and free shipping,” Mr. Jones said.

Key demographics
The study also found some interesting statistics on how mobile behavior differs between men and women.

Seventy-seven percent of men consumers surveyed who plan to use a mobile device this holiday season will use it to check prices before making a decision.

Fifty-one percent of mobile men shoppers said they would use their device with shopping applications, and 30 percent of men said they planned on having coupons texted to them.

On the other hand, 71 percent of women who planned to use their mobile devices said they would use their devices to comparison shop.

Fifty-nine percent of women plan to use shopping applications, and 47 percent of women plan to have coupons sent to them via text.

According to Mr. Jones, retailers and marketers need to take note of the findings to help boost revenue this holiday season.

“We already expect retailers to start rolling out deals as early as the week before Thanksgiving, and they should capitalize on this early start date by offering online discounts such as free shipping and free tax to entice more consumers to shop online early to receive their gifts before Dec. 25,” Mr. Jones said.

“Retailers will benefit by offering more emailed coupons that consumers can access from a mobile device while shopping on-the-go,” he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York