23rd February - People are more likely to shop than buy with their mobile phones, a market researcher said Thursday.

In a survey of 2,000 consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom, Gartner found that 24% of people in the U.S. are likely to check for prices of items on their cellular phones, while only 12% were likely to buy products. In the U.K., the percentages are 18% and 11%, respectively.

Also among the top activities to be done on a mobile phone in both the U.S. and the U.K. is finding stores, Gartner said. In addition, 20%, or one in five U.S. consumers, is likely to want to receive promotions on their phones, compared with 16% of U.K. respondents.

Younger consumers are more likely to use their mobile phones for retail activities, the survey found. In the U.S., respondents from 18 years old to 27 years old are, on average, nearly two times more likely to do mobile shopping activities than respondents between the ages of 43 and 61. In the U.K., the younger generation is 2.63 times more likely to shop with their cell phones than baby boomers.

The survey shows that retailers planning to enter the area of mobile commerce should differentiate themselves by offering multichannel capabilities, such as the ability to order by phone and pick up the item at the store or to save a mobile-phone-created shopping session so it can be continued on a Web browser on a home PC, Gartner said.

Also, because the survey points to a shopping preference, retailers should strive to have listings available on portals, price comparison engines, and mobile maps.