• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, December 5, 2016

From the gas station to the mall to the restaurant, expect holiday shoppers to use their phones throughout their entire “purchase journey” this year. That’s according to some new findings from Nielsen, which tracked the mobile usage of shoppers.  

As they provide a little time to relax, cafés and bakeries are a particularly popular place for shoppers to spend time on the gadgets.

Indeed, among nearly 3,800 U.S. adults -- who have used their smartphone or tablet for mobile buying, paying or banking in the past 30 days -- 8% use them every day at cafés and bakeries.

Nearly as many (7%) reported using their devices at quick-service restaurants, while 6% reported doing so at grocery stores, gas stations, department stores, book stores, and when using parking meters.

When it comes to frequency of usage, 28% of consumers use mobile payments at a grocery store or supermarket once a week, while 22% of consumers use them at café/bakery, quick-service restaurants and gas stations, Nielsen found. Meanwhile, 14% of consumers use mobile payments at fine dining restaurants.

When searching for gifts, consumers appreciate the convenience and security of peer-to-peer payments, the research firm found.

In fact, 60% of mobile peer-to-peer payment users said that account safety was the most important attribute, followed by ease of cash outs (45%) and ease of account setup (42%).

Among peer to peer users, 63% said transferring money to friends and family is the primary reason they use peer-to-peer payment apps, with 27% of them using peer-to-peer payment apps to transfer money overseas.

Entertainment was cited as the second-most popular reason (33%), followed by dining and purchasing merchandise (31%).