According to the Google Mobile Ads Blog, in a 2011 study conducted in tandem with Ipsos, consumers are using mobile devices more and more, to help command the points of purchase while shopping online or in-store.

During the holiday shopping season, 41% of consumers made purchases directly on their smartphones, 46% noted that they picked out their item on their smartphone, and completed the purchase in-store, and 37% said they researched their item on their phone, and bought it online. Of the three modes of purchase, it was also noted that consumers with tablet devices were more prone to read product reviews and look up more product information, likely due to their larger screens and portability, according to Dai Pham, of Google Mobile Ads Marketing. It’s now easier to get detailed information about a product from the couch, kitchen or bed, with a tablet device.

Naturally, most consumers are using their smartphones to contact the retailers directly, with click-to-call phone numbers on company websites making this convenient. With 80% of consumers saying that they’d used their smartphones while shopping this year, along with 70% of tablet users, it is essentially that retailers optimize their websites to engage customers on all three devices.

For more information on consumer trends in regards to desktop, mobile and tablet devices, check out a report on Post Holiday Learnings for 2012.