As the proliferation of smartphones (whether they are iPhone, Android, BlackBerry or whatever) increases it’s a logical follow that there should be more mobile commerce happening. Not everyone is comfortable with the idea just yet so it’s certainly not commonplace but there is no denying the increasing level of acceptance for consumers to do their consuming on the run.

eConsultancy reports on a survey conducted by eDigital Research in the UK

A survey by eDigital Research used a sample of 1,200 mobile users, half of which had smartphones, asked how people used phones as part of the research and purchase process.

The results back the growing focus of retailers on mobile commerce, with a third of smartphone users browsing retail sites on their phones for research or to make a purchase.

Smartphones now accounted for 17.5% of handsets in the UK at the end of last year, with the number of users estimated at 6.5m, a number that is likely to have increased since then.

Here is a chart telling more of the story

In what is likely to be a more common occurrence it appears that people are not always all that mobile when they are using their mobile devices either.

55% of those who shopped online from their phones did this outside the home, and 28% are doing this during times when they would have been otherwise inaccessible to retailers; during lunch breaks, while waiting for something, or on transport.

The fact that 45% shop via mobile from home in perhaps surprising as you would expect them to use laptops or PCs if available, though perhaps they find it more convenient to shop from the comfort of the sofa.

I know that I would much rather access apps and the like through my iPod around the house because being ‘tied down’ to a laptop (sounds funny doesn’t it since that kind of thinking is usually reserved for a desktop computer) or wrestling with my BlackBerry is not what I want.

With all of the back and forth between Apple and Google, the continuing move toward more smart phone choices and increasing comfort levels with mobile computing that naturally develop with time, mobile commerce should be increasing for some time to come.

Do you purchase things from your mobile device? If so, what types of products and services are you buying? Do you do big purchases? Do you ever hold back from a purchase because you are doing it from your mobile device?