20 per cent of all adult mobile phone users have made an online purchase using their phones in the past year, according to a survey commissioned by Placecast. Rather unsurprisingly, the research also found that people were much more likely to make purchases on a smartphone, at 34 per cent. Only 13 per cent of feature phones owners, by comparison, had accessed a retailers mCommerce site.

The research, conducted online by Harris Interactive, is the third part of the Alert Shopper study, and surveyed a nationally representative sample of over 2,000 US adults. 50 per cent of smartphone owners had used location-based services to find a retail store in the past year, 44 per cent had accessed a retailers mobile site, and 34 per cent had downloaded a retailer’s app.

24 per cent had searched for a coupon on their device to use at checkout in-store – the same number that had used a barcode scanning app for price comparison.

“Just as purchases of smartphones have been booming in recent years, so too have purchases using smartphones,” says Placecast CEO Alistair Goodman. “In just two years, we saw interest in making purchases via mobile increase by eight per cent – meaning that millions of Americans are recognising the convenience of using their phones for shopping. Retailers that realise the potential of mobile will be able to reach consumers in an incredibly personal way, cultivate a relationship with them, and increase their overall sales.”