For several years now, online marketers have been announcing the 'year of the mobile' and 2012 has been no different. No different that is except that now you will read reports that this time it is mobile users who are saying it. That makes a real difference and with one recent report making the claim:

"More than half of adult cell phone owners used their cell phones while they were in a store during the 2011 holiday season to seek help with purchasing decisions."

It may be time to sit up and listen.

The report comes from PewInternet and contains many interesting statistics which should point us towards taking mobile marketing very seriously indeed.

"38% of cell owners used their phone to call a friend while they were in a store for advice about a purchase they were considering making"

Of course this has nothing to do with online marketing. It has everything to do with modern culture and the speed with which we can contact each other. Instant word of mouth.

"24% of cell owners used their phone to look up reviews of a product online while they were in a store"

Soliciting and managing online reviews from contented customers has become a must. They affect your search rankings and increasingly customers are using them in their decision making. Mobile devices, particularly smart phones allow us to consult reviews while in the store. So, no, you are not being paranoid, those people looking at their phone screens may well be reading what is being said about your shop or products online. If so you need to know what they are reading. You need to be encouraging the good and mitigating the bad.

"25% of adult cell owners used their phones to look up the price of a product online while they were in a store, to see if they could get a better price somewhere else"

There is nothing new about the necessity of knowing how your prices compare with the competition. It depends on the product and the market how big an issue it is. Less need for paranoia here though. The price difference needs to be worth leaving your shop for. Some good old fashioned customer service might well do the trick. However, there is no point in hoping that people will not know that your product can be bought cheaper on another street even if it is harder to find. Smart phones have GPS.

52% of the adults surveyed used their phones for one of these thee reasons during the holiday shopping season. 33% used them to find information online while actually inside a store.

This last part is important. This is the real power of mobile access to the Internet, whether actually in a store or in a coffee shop planning your next burst of shopping. Sales may be holding up in-store but the Internet is increasingly influencing where, when and what is bought. Strong off-line sales are not an excuse for neglecting online presence, they are more and more likely to reflect a strong online presence.