• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, September 15, 2015

As more shoppers turn to their phones while in stores, they’re becoming more open to interactions from retailers, especially based on where they are at any given moment.

For example, consumers prefer getting personalized offers via email before leaving home but once near or in a store, they prefer a text offer, according to a new study.

Shoppers also are likely to use various forms of location technologies on their smartphones as they shop, according to the 2015 Global Shopper Study.

The eighth annual study was conducted by Research Now for Zebra Technologies and comprised an online survey of 2,000 shoppers in 12 countries.

There is no one-size-fits-all way for retailers to accommodate mobile shoppers, since they are likely to use different technologies as they shop. Here’s what they are likely to use:

• 51% -- Location-based coupons
• 49% -- Email receipt
• 45% -- Shopping map
• 44% -- Wi-Fi hotspot
• 41% -- Location-based assistance
• 31% -- Texting sales staff

While more consumers use mobile devices in the shopping process, most (76%) of shoppers feel positive about shopping in stores.

And while in a store, many want more tech-enabled self-service functions. For example, more than half (58%) want self-checkout and 67% want price checkers.

Consistent with other research, the study also found that mobile technology in the hands of sales associates or even standalone tech in a store can be a big plus. Here’s the technology that shoppers say provides them a better in-store experience:

• 58% -- Handheld mobile computers by sales associates
• 54% -- Kiosks for pricing and product availability
• 44% -- Mobile point-of-sale devices
• 42% -- Sales associates with tablets
• 39% -- Sales associates with smartphones

Despite the numerous means of using technology to aid shoppers in stores, smartphones still are the driving force of online commerce growth.

As a side note, only slightly over a third (38%) of shoppers trust retailers to protect their personal data and almost half (46%) have downloaded a retailer’s app.

Besides using their phones to browse, mobile online shoppers are creating more baskets and order more than ever before, according to a different study.

Mobile accounted for 94% of the year-over-year traffic increase, according to the recent Demandware Shopping Index.

That study measures digital commerce growth and is based on an analysis of more than 200 million shoppers worldwide. The index includes shopper frequency, conversion average order values and net changes in shopping behaviors.

And it’s not only traffic that mobile is driving. Mobile accounted for 74% of the increase in shopping basket creation and almost half (47%) of the growth in orders.

By operating system, Apple still leads Google, but not by a lot.

By operating system, Apple’s iOS accounted for 57% of both traffic and order share, while Android accounted for 47%. By order size, iOS orders average $107 compared to $96 for Android phones,

By the end of this year, smartphones will be the most popular device driving digital commerce traffic, according to the study.

Consumers are going all-in on mobile shopping.