• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, August 14, 2014

No matter how you slice it, mobile consumers want to shop in stores and they’re looking for a deal.

This came through in a new survey of moms, with most (85%) saying they expect to do more than half or all of their back-to-school shopping in stores this year.

The majority (52%) say they will do less than half of their shopping online, according to the back-to-school survey of 500 mothers conducted by Survey Monkey for Punchtab.

Even though they plan to buy in physical stores, most (60%) said they will use their smartphone while shopping and they’re looking for deals, which is consistent with other research.

While in the store, moms are four times more likely to use their smartphone to look for coupons compared to other mobile activities.

Regarding the mobile shopping aspects, here’s how mothers plan to use their smartphone to assist:

• 48% -- Look for coupons or sales
• 30% -- Compare prices among different stores
• 29% -- Browse for items in online stores
• 20% -- Browse or research items on a store’s website before going to the store
• 18% -- Research items on brands’ websites
• 16% -- Purchase items from online stores

While in the store, mobile activities are somewhat different, with the exception of the importance of coupons topping the list. Here’s how moms plan to use their smartphones in stores:

• 46% -- Look for mobile coupons
• 11% -- Read online reviews
• 11% -- Check point status or availability of rewards in store loyalty program
• 3% -- Use a mobile wallet or payment application to pay for purchase

Retailers may want to pay close attention to the idea of offering coupons and deals via mobile.

For back-to-school shopping, almost all of the moms say coupons or deals are important, with 89% of them rating coupons and deals as at least somewhat important to their purchase decision.

Those who ignore that could end up dealing with only 11% of that market.