Nearly half of American smartphone owners (47%) used shopping apps in June 2012, according to the latest Nielsen data.  Overall, 45 million smartphone owners used apps in the Shopping/Commerce category, accessing shopping apps 17 times on average during June 2012.

Here are the Top Ten Shopping Apps for the month:

Most of the apps on the list are obvious, but a handul need further explanation:

ShopKick
Shopkick is a shopping rewards program that’s, well, more rewarding. No plastic cards, no confusing rules, no extra steps. You just do what you love doing anyway—walking into your favorite stores like Target, Macy’s, Best Buy, Crate&Barrel, Old Navy, Toys”R”Us, Exxon and Mobil convenience stores, and more—and you automatically rack up über-versatile points called “kicks.” No applications to fill out, and no purchase required. That’s right—you just walk in with your smartphone and instantly earn kicks.

Red Laser
The ultimate Showrooming aid. Wave your smartphone in front of any item’s bar code. The app scans websites and nearby stores to tell you if it’s available for less elsewhere.

Out of Milk Shopping List
Out of Milk is an easy-to-use and intuitive Shopping List, To-Do List and Pantry List app that can be as simple or as detailed as you’d like.

The latest Forrester Online Retailing in Australia study reveals that Mobile is now the most important priority for Aussie etailers. PowerRetail reports:

"For the first time, mobile is a higher investment priority for online retailers than an e-commerce platform, according to the just-released Forrester report, Online Retailing in Australia 2012. Multichannel retailers are leading the charge into mobile investment more so than pureplays. Fifty-four percent of multichannel retailers say mobile sites are a top technology investment, versus only 29% of pureplays claiming the same view.

That difference in focus isn't surprising: if you have a physical retail presence, mobile ecommerce is inevitably of greater importance and utility.

The full Forrester report “Online Retailing in Australia 2012: Mobile” is available here (for US$499). 

Useful point to ponder from MarketingProfs.com:

How vital is mobile commerce becoming? Worldwide, mobile commerce is set to hit $119 billion by 2015. The projected amount of retail purchases made online by 2014 is 54%.

To better grasp mobile’s incredible growth and its implications, Big Commerce, an e-commerce software software company, recently studied analyst and trend-watching data from various sources, then created the infographic below.