ResponseTap has issued a new report stating that they have found that many more shoppers start their purchase process on a smartphone than was previously known.

Most notable on this report is the statistic that sales influenced by mobile devices are being vastly underestimated. ResponseTap found that since marketers were not tracking telephone call sales and linking them back to mobile activity that the overall conversion figures did not reflecting the true picture of mobile’s impact on purchasing. It was previously thought that mobile phones were part of 0.4 percent of transactions but by factoring in phone sales we see that it the number is actual 1.3 percent of conversions.

Adding telephone sales into tablet related conversions makes a huge difference in that area as well, doubling the previous 1.5 percent made via tablets to 3.1 percent when telephone calls prompted by their tablet activity are factored in. Web based sales reflect similar numbers as many do research on a pc before calling to purchase. These findings reflect previous research that found about half (54 percent) of consumers like to have human contact to complete a purchase.

“There are strong implications here that businesses need to be aware of,” says Kimber Johnson, Managing Director, Pacific App Design, “you need to be aware that while customers may not make the purchase via your mobile web site or mobile application, they may very well be starting to research you and your products there. A strong mobile app or mobile web site could be the key to getting those calls ordering your products.”

Full ResponseTap study results can be found here.