According to a new Nielsen study, as smartphones became the majority in the U.S. in 2012 (In March 2012, 50.4% of U.S. mobile subscribers owned smartphones), 47% of American smartphone owners used shopping apps in June 2012. Overall, 45 million smartphone owners used apps in the Shopping/Commerce category, accessing shopping apps 17 times on average during June 2012.

According to the e-tailing group and MyBuys, in a joint online survey, consumers are more comfortable sharing data with retailers than they are with social networks, especially if it enhances the shopping experience. The majority of survey respondents (55%) responded that they are "mostly willing" to provide shopping preferences to trusted retailers in exchange for an enhanced shopping experience.

According to the 2012 Mobile Advertising Survey by Hipcricket, young (ages 25-34) customers have the most interest and interactivity with mobile ads. 70% have made a purchase as a direct result of a mobile ad, and 58% would be willing to provide personal information via a mobile website in return for a reward or coupon, twice as likely as those in the 45-54 year old category.

Demographic analysis of tablet audiences by platform revealed distinct differences across iPad, Android and Kindle Fire audiences. iPad owners skewed male (52.9%), slightly younger (44.5% under the age of 35) and wealthier (46.3% residing in households with income of $100k or greater), compared to an average tablet user during the three-month average period ending June 2012.

According to a new study by Newegg, conducted by Wakefield Research, students are most interested in buying laptops and large televisions to take with them as they begin college life. According to the results, other technology products that are popular among students ages 18-24 include tablets, printers, smartphones, speakers and the latest software.

According to the NPD Group annual back-to-school study of consumers' purchasing intentions for the 2012 season, consumers intend to spend more this year, but will start their shopping a little later.

According to a new study conducted by The Incyte Group, consumers want deeper connections with brands - but open social networks are not where they want to build these connections. Instead, marketers need to invite their "friends" into a branded customer community that converts them into buyers, advocates, and long-term customers, says the report.

According to a recent Nielsen study, Americans spend 35 hours each week watching content across screens, and 94% of that is still on a traditional television. In conjunction with that, Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), a direct connection to video that is watchable on the living room TV but streamed from the Web, is gaining traction.

According to the State of Social Media study, recently released by Harris Interactive and MyLife, 62% of adults who are currently a member of more than one social networking site, say they keep an eye on their social networks because they don't want to miss something ("Fear of missing out: FOMO"). The findings also indicate that nearly 40% would rather undertake unpleasant or potentially painful activities before they would give up their social networking profiles.

According to a new study from Chadwick Martin Bailey and Constant Contact and reported by Marketing Charts, 54% of consumers who subscribe to a daily deal program will share a deal because it's great, regardless of whether or not they are current customers of a business. 45% strongly agree that they would share a deal because they know their friends will like it, and 34% are more likely to share the deals from businesses of which they are already customers.