• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, October 27, 2011

Online activity while shopping in stores continues to gain popularity. A Performics study conducted by ROI Research released Thursday reveals that consumers turn to social between 20% and 50% of the time, and search between 18% and 62% of the time, to find information about products.

In fact, 62% said they conduct competitive price searches while in a retail location, 45% check in at a store, 41% use a search engine on their mobile phone to look for information, and 30% use a barcode scanner on their mobile phone to shop for prices. The study also finds that 25% pause while at a physical location prior to finalizing a purchase to find advice on a social network, and 41% said they wait between five and 10 minutes for advice on social sites before proceeding with their purchase.

Apparently, consumers who are active in social networks often rely on shopping sites. About 87% turn to brand Web sites or Amazon and eBay to begin the purchase process. About 83% sign onto these sites directly before they commit to a purchase. These consumers -- 59% -- said they are more likely to sign on to social networks such as Facebook immediately after the purchase to share their experience.

Performics estimates that mobile paid-search clicks will reach 17.3% of all search clicks in December 2011, up from Google's estimate of 9.5% in the year-ago month. In September, Performics said Google search clicks from mobile devices rose to 14.2% of all search clicks. Tablets reached 35.8% of all mobile search clicks in September, up from 34.3% in August.

Performics Senior Analyst James Beveridge and Research Associate Cristina Lucero describe in a blog post the mobile search patterns seen last year. They tell us that as shoppers get close to the final days before the holidays, when shipping is no longer feasible, mobile use will rise as people look for local stores to make purchases.

Search marketers should mark the days on a calendar. Despite growth, mobile paid search continues to undercut desktop paid-search keyword prices. Average mobile clicks are currently 53% less expensive than computer clicks. This is something search marketers may want to keep in mind, as the holidays approach.