A new report showed that this technology sends more traffic into shops and could increase sales.

As shoppers increasingly look to smartphones for products in-store mobile commerce tools are having a greater impact. Brick and mortar shops that offer additional shopping assistance over mobile devices see more traffic and sales.

A recent DMI report showed that 70 percent of U.S. shoppers always or regularly use mobile devices to shop.

Still, retailers have yet to fully implement the kind of in-store mobile commerce opportunities that consumers love. This kind of m-commerce tool has the ability to raise customer engagement and in-store efficiency. Yet they are still not commonplace.

Recent research showed that shoppers want to use their mobile devices while in brick and mortar stores. More specifically, they want to be able to use smartphones as a part of self-checkout systems. They also want to be able to gain access to store inventory. When they are being assisted by a store associate, consumers want to receive alerts to tell them when their items are ready.

In-store mobile commerce tools can incentivize customers to visit shops more frequently.

These mobile apps and other features can also encourage customers to spend larger amounts once they’re there.

The DMI report provided significant insight into this trend. Among U.S. shoppers, 61 percent would visit a favorite retail shop more frequently if it had a better application. These consumers want more tools and improved value from retail apps.

Furthermore, 57 percent of shoppers said they would spend more money in-store if they had a better app to use. Another 70 percent of consumers said they would select one retailer over another based on the mobile tools they offer.

Retailers have traditionally struggled in encouraging consumers to download their mobile apps. The barriers to download include an aversion to standalone apps for every retailer they like. Moreover, many consumers don’t like the clunky functionality many apps have to offer.

However, when retailers introduce strong mobile tools, there are two strong benefits. The first benefit is enhanced user engagement. The second benefit is the chance to boost in-store foot traffic.

BIA/Kelsey research has shown that this one area is taking a considerable share of marketing budgets.

Marketers are increasing their mobile ad spend in very specific areas. New research shows that both sponsored content and native advertising are becoming an increasingly important focus.

This is particularly true since mobile ad blocking has become such a popular practice among consumers.

The BIA/Kelsey chief analyst and vice president of content, Michael Boland, said that “Native social advertising is the big headline of this forecast.” He added that the FAN and news feed add success from Facebook has provided a new perspective on advertising. As a result, “we’ve dialed up native social’s share of the mobile ad revenue pie.”

Trends in mobile ad spend have also shown that Snapchat and Instagram are moving in similar directions. These include changes to boost the attractiveness and impact of native social formats for marketers.

The report also underscores the falling mobile ad spend when it comes to banner advertising methods.

Even before this report was published, it was clear that banner ads have already fallen out of favor on Facebook. The platform determined that they don’t have very much value when compared to native and video advertising methods.

Boland also explained that the growing use of ad blockers has only accelerated the mobile marketing industry’s trends. As a whole, mobile advertising is moving away from banners and toward material that is immune to blockers. This primarily includes content marketing.

Boland stated that the millennial generation is also being taken into account. For them mobile ad spend on native social ads is more important than any other adult generation. Therefore, marketers grabbed hold of this style and use it to take aim at this extremely important demographic.

This shift is clearly visible through Snapchat. That platform is exceptionally popular among the younger generations.  It recently made some marketer-friendly changes. Among those changes include the automated application programming interface (API) designed for its ad partners. With rapid growth in its user base and great engagement metrics, Snapchat uses native advertising over any other method. It is completely free of banner ads and while this may seem limiting, it has been vital for user trust.