• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, November 30, 2012

According to a recent analysis from Prosper Mobile Insights, 55.3% of Mobile Users plan to utilize a smartphone or tablet for holiday shopping this year to research, purchase, locate stores or assist with other shopping tasks. 61.9% of Mobile Holiday Shoppers say they will use their device primarily as a “mobile mall,” purchasing products and comparing prices. The other 38.1% will use mobile technology for organization, keeping gift lists and planning shopping trips.

It appears most of these tech-savvy shoppers, says the report, will use their “mobile malls” to compare prices between brick or click shops while browsing in-store, creating both opportunities and challenges for retailers dreaming to be in the black this holiday season.

Almost half of Mobile Holiday Shoppers will also tap into product reviews from their smartphone or tablet to help them decide what items to purchase:

Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights Director at BIGinsight, says “comparing prices and products between retailers (showrooming) is another... smart shopping strategy that consumers have adopted to keep... spending in check... retailers this holiday season (must) provide... value propositions they can’t resist... “

Digital devices will likely be hot items for mobile holiday shopping. The majority plans to research them using a smartphone or tablet while 2 in 5 plan to purchase electronics via mobile.

Clothing, entertainment items and toys also top the mobile shopping list for searches and purchases, while 1 in 4 plan to buy gift cards using a smartphone or tablet.

Mobile Holiday Shoppers will likely take advantage of special pricing on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 62% say they are somewhat or very likely to purchase products using a smartphone or tablet on each of these major shopping days.

The survey was collected from 10/24 - 10/29/12. 187 respondents were male while 146 were female, and the average age of the sample was 46. Margin of error is +/- 5.4%.

For additional information about the survey, please visit here.