Mobile applications offer retailers the opportunity to encourage shoppers to make in-store purchases, according to a study conducted by ForeSee Results.

This was the key finding of the research firm's mobile apps and holiday shopping report. The study is based on surveys conducted over the holiday shopping season (Dec. 1-18) as part of the Top 40 Online Retail Satisfaction Index. It finds that retailers and consumers are just starting to get their feet wet in offering or using mobile apps to enhance in-store shopping experience.

"Going forward, retailers should encourage smart phone users to adopt retailer-generated mobile apps, not only to ask about a product or send a picture of a product to a friend, but to compare online prices, remember specs of something they were researching online and identify the proper model or version of a wish list item," said Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results, in the report.

"It will be a while before we see huge penetration of mobile phones being used as part of the in-store experience, but I expect it to double next year and continue growing from there," he said in the report.

The ForeSee Results study found that 91 percent of online shoppers own mobile phones. However, about a third of respondents have used them while shopping.

Those shoppers who did use a mobile phone as part of their shopping experience, did not make heavy use of retailer-originated mobile apps or Internet-based product information.

On the contrary, most used their phone to get opinions from others regarding the purchase.

"This may indicate that mobile apps are very much on the bleeding edge, rather than the leading edge, of technology," Mr. Freed said in the report.

One in four shoppers who used a mobile phone while shopping used it to look at comparison prices, while 15 percent used it to go online to check product reviews.

These numbers make up 7 percent and 4 percent of the study's total respondent pool, respectively.

"This is not an insignificant number, considering the small but growing use of smart phones and the fact that many retailer mobile apps were new this holiday or still in beta testing," Mr. Freed said in the report.

"For the 2009 holiday shopping season, I wouldn't be surprised if we see this number double, at least," he said.

According to the study, satisfaction is a proven indicator of certain future behaviors.

In fact, a satisfied shopper is more likely to buy, recommend and return to a store or Web site.

Mobile phone usage impacts those same future behaviors.

"We found that people who use mobile phones while shopping are not more loyal, more satisfied, or more likely to recommend top retailers' Web sites," Mr. Freed said in the report. "In fact, of all the behaviors we study, only one was different for this group."

People who use mobile phones for shopping have a greater likelihood to buy products offline.

"People are using phones more often to actually call someone to get an opinion or to send a picture of an item and less for price comparison shopping or store-initiated mobile apps," Mr. Freed said in the report.

"More often than not, the opinion they get encourages them to buy the item," he said. "Perhaps stores should consider phone-a-friend promotions to encourage this kind of shopping behavior."