• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, February 22, 2017

Consumers continue to buy in stores, but that hasn’t put a dent in online shopping, both by PC and mobile devices.

However, consumers tend to gravitate to the two devices depending on what they’re shopping for, according to a new study.

It turns out that smartphone purchasing rules for digital products, while apparel shopping is done more on desktops.

The study by Episerver comprised a survey of 1,100 U.S. consumers who have shopped online within the previous year.

Overall, consumers are shopping online for a wide variety of goods, whether purchased by desktop or smartphone. Here’s what consumers shop for online:

• 85% -- Personal and entertainment
• 85% -- Apparel
• 82% -- Travel
• 79% -- Digital products
• 74% -- Entertainment
• 74% -- Paying a utility bill
• 71% -- Electronics
• 64% -- Home furnishings

Of course, shopping online doesn’t necessarily mean the purchase is made on the spot, since some of the shopping could be pure research before heading to the mall or store.

No matter, mobile plays a role in that shopping activity, with a quarter (25%) of consumers using a mobile device very often when shopping online, compared to 23% who use desktops.

Age also seem so play a role in which device is used for shopping, with those 18 to 44 years old shopping on smartphones more often while those 45 and older much more likely to use desktops, based on the survey.

For shopping from desktop or laptops, here’s the breakdown of products or services shopped for:

• 69% -- Apparel
• 68% -- Travel
• 63% -- Personal and entertainment
• 59% -- Paying a utility bill
• 59% -- Electronics
• 52% --Entertainment
• 51% -- Home furnishings
• 46% -- Digital products

Mobile shopping is hardly left in the dust here, with a healthy amount of shopping conducted through smartphones and tablets. Here’s that breakdown:

• 76% -- Digital products
• 69% -- Personal and entertainment
• 59% -- Entertainment
• 53% -- Apparel
• 46% -- Travel
• 42% -- Electronics
• 40% -- Paying a utility bill
• 34% -- Home furnishings

Online shopping is hardly cooling. Two thirds of shoppers expect to make more online purchases this year than last. Even more significantly, of consumers who purchase every time they visit a brand’s website or mobile app with the intent of purchasing, 91% expect to purchase more this year.

Interestingly, almost all (92%) consumers visit a brand’s website for the first time to do something other than to make a purchase. Almost half (45%) are searching for products, 26% are comparing prices or other variables between brands and 11% are looking for store details, such as store hours or location.

Even when visiting brand’s website or mobile app with the intent to purchase, almost a third (32%) rarely or never make that purchase.

Mobile shoppers are checking things out, but in many cases, online merchants are not closing the deal.