• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, February 22, 2012

New findings from Nielsen’s upcoming U.S. Digital Consumer Report show 29% of smartphone owners use their phone for shopping. Among mobile shoppers, top activities include in-store price comparisons (38%), browsing products on mobile Web or apps (38%) and reading online product reviews (34%).

About one-fifth (22%) made a purchase via mobile and the same proportion have scanned a barcode for price or product information. Almost as many (18%) have used location-based services to find a retail location.

The study found only 9% of mobile shoppers have used their phone to pay at the register. But 71% of app downloaders would be interested in an app that allows them to use their phone as a credit card. That obviously suggests a big potential opportunity for companies launching mobile wallet solutions like Google and PayPal.

Unfortunately for Google, the Nielsen data suggested iPhone users are more interested in this option than Android users, with more than a third (39%) saying they would be “extremely” or “very” interested in an app with this ability. That compares to 30% of Android users expressing similar levels of interest.

In any case, the Web research firm argues that apps, which account for the majority of mobile phone time in the U.S., could be the key to shifting consumers from browsing products on mobile devices to making purchases on the spot.