• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, November 3, 2016

What role do smartphones play in influencing holiday searches and purchases? For me it all starts with my iPhone, Google or Bing, and a tap on the microphone to conducts a voice search. After all, mobile devices will account for 75% of global Internet use in 2017, according to the Zenith Mobile Advertising Forecasts released this week.

Zenith estimates mobile advertising will surpass desktop advertising in 2017, increasing its share to 52% from 44% in 2016. In 2018, Zenith forecasts mobile advertising at 60% of all Internet advertising and mobile advertising expenditure at $134 billion, which is more than what marketers will spend on newspaper, magazine, cinema and outdoor advertising combined.

How will U.S. consumers use their smartphones in the store, per the data? Nearly half -- 47% -- plan to use their smartphone to search for competitors' prices, 36% will look up product reviews, 30% will sign up to receive in-store promotions, 28% will take pictures for future reference, and 16% will scan a QR code, according to an infographic from Opera Mediaworks published Thursday.

One in three Millennials prefer to shop in a dedicated app, and one in four like personalized notification when shopping in-app.

The company surveyed 800 mobile users in the U.S. across their mobile ad platform. The infographic, Unwrapping Mobile Holiday Shopping Habits, shows that consumers want sales, free shipping, and coupons. In fact, 51% said they will look for a sale; 73%, free shipping; and 45%, coupons. Some 33% of shoppers will shop on Black Friday, 22% of shoppers will shop after Black Friday, and 40% of shoppers will have made mobile purchases directly from an advertisement.

As marketers gear up for the highest-spend season of the year, a bevy of companies have published infographics and studies on holiday shopping trends from smartphones and other mobile devices to help marketers target this year's holiday shoppers on smartphones.

Despite the push to get consumers to buy online, some consumers still want to walk into a brick-and-mortar store and make a purchase. Loyalty is not found online, it’s earned in person, according to a report from Revel that takes a look at the current state of retail. In fact, consumers are five times more likely to develop brand loyalty to a company if they shop in person rather than online.

Revel's survey was conducted nationwide using SurveyMonkey Audience, running from July 7 through 15, 2016, and received 2,500 completed responses with a 2% margin of error.