Cell phones are necessary tools by which many Americans get information, with an increasing number of people looking for phones which offer access to email, the Internet and picture taking, according to a new report conducted by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation (NRF).

According to the most recent survey of 9,578 adults used in this analysis, nearly nine out of 10 adults (87.5%) say they have a cell phone, an increase of 17.9 percent from January 2006 (74.2%).

With ecommerce expanding to m-commerce, many people want the convenience of being able to shop or browse company’s websites from their phone. The survey found 41.5 percent of adults want a cell phone with Internet access, compared to just under one-third (32.6%) who said so in July 2008. More than half (51.4%) of adults 18-34 years old say they want to be able to surf the web on their phone, compared to the 41.0 percent who said so in July 2008.

“Americans expect more from their phones than the ability to talk to family and friends,” said NRF President and CEO Matt Shay.

“Aside from sending pictures and sharing stories and experiences over social networking sites, consumers want to be able to connect with their favorite retailers in a way they never have been able to before – instantaneously. The emergence of m-commerce has created a paradigm shift that has the retail industry very excited.”

When it comes to other cell phone features or attributes, adults say email access has also increased in importance over the years. Over half (51.1%) of 18-34 year-olds say they want a cell phone with email access, up from 28.1 percent in January 2006. But young adults aren’t the only ones who favor email access: according to the survey, 42.6 percent of all adults want email on their phone, up significantly from 22.5 percent four years ago.

“The combination of new technologies coupled with consumers’ desire to adopt these new apps are redefining the cell phone into a ‘consumer communicator’,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President of Strategy, BIGresearch.

“Marketers and retailers should leverage shopper’s needs to stay connected by providing information and communications to assist them with their purchase decisions.”

Tags: Mobile Commerce, NRF

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About the Author: Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.