• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, July 15, 2013

The mobile revolution has given car-trippers another fun activity for their summertime excursions: gas price comparisons! Yes, mobile is officially the go-to search medium for gas and convenience searches, according to new research conducted by Nielsen on behalf of xAd/Telmetrics. Two out of three gas and convenience searchers use mobile exclusively, while 85% of such search time is spent on a smartphone. Not surprisingly, Monica Ho, VP marketing at mobile ad network xAd, thinks the trend bodes well for mobile marketers. “With the majority of searchers open to purchase options, advertisers have a strong opportunity to influence mobile gas [and] convenience buying decisions,” according to Ho. The gas and convenience category does offers one of the highest mobile conversion rates -- nearly 90 percent -- as most mobile users who search for these services are ultimately making a purchase, according to Nielsen. More than half of smartphone searchers say they plan to make a purchase within the hour of their search, and 88% of those smartphone and tablet purchases will be made the same day.