A new study from Yes Marketing has found that more people are using apps on their smartphones while visiting bricks-and-mortar outlets in larger numbers than ever before, according to Internet Retailing.

The investigation, carried out in the US, revealed that 57 per cent of consumers who head to real-world retail locations also choose to carry out safe shopping online from within mobile-specific platforms as part of an effort to improve their overall experience.

Analysts believe that this actually benefits high street stores as long as they offer own-brand apps which are designed to capitalise on this emerging trend.

The report also delved into the ways in which mobiles are being used to buy online independent of in-store activities, with a surprising 49 per cent of respondents stating that they still enjoyed completing transactions on traditional PCs and laptops rather than on their handheld devices.

A third of those questioned said that smartphones were their first port of call for making purchases, which continues to demonstrate that they are more widely used for research, whether at home or on the move.

This still means that mobiles can be incredibly influential in shaping the buying decisions that consumers make; it is simply the case that they will generally prefer to buy in person or using a larger device when it comes to the crunch.

Developing bespoke apps for popular smartphone platforms is essential for modern retailers, as evidenced by the habits that consumers have adopted in recent years. The apps can be transactional, although simply providing information about products and services can be enough to ensure that people remain loyal to the brand in question rather than searching rival sites and comparing prices while in-store at a time when they are most likely to make a purchase.