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Will retail sales clerks be roving the aisles this holiday season, ready to ring up your purchase with an iPad? Don’t count on it, but a new study suggests retailers are interested in the Apple tablet’s potential as a handheld register.

“Retailers have longed for moderately priced handheld devices for their sales associates and store managers to enhance the consumer experience,” according to the report by research and consulting firm IHL Group working with RetailConnections, which operates retail industry events. With the debut of the $500 iPad and other devices, some retailers are looking to eliminate point-of-sale (POS) or checkout locations in stores altogether.

Staff at Apple’s own stores carry iPod touch devices outfitted with a hard plastic case for scanning barcodes and swiping credit cards. They also have a stylus attached for customers to sign for credit charges. In my experience, it definitely beats standing in a long line to check out, especially during the holidays.

Barnes & Noble, Victoria’s Secret and Urban Outfitters are among other companies that have moved to equip in-store salespeople with handheld devices for speeding up the check-out process. Nearly 20% of specialty retailers plan to replace traditional POS with mobile check-out in the next two years.

The study also found retailers are warming to adoption of the iPhone among managers. While only 19% of retailers today support executives’ use of the Apple device for work, that proportion is expected to triple to 60% in the next 12 months. Similarly, iPad adoption is forecast to jump from 5% to 47% in the next year.

A survey last month of 200 companies in the U.S. and the U.K. by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. found that 74% allow workers to use devices other than BlackBerrys.

On the consumer side, IHL Group found both the iPhone and Android-based phones taking center stage in the smartphone world. More than 56% of smartphone users are seriously considering an iPhone and 44% an Android device for their next phone. By contrast, only 24% are seriously looking at getting a BlackBerry, and only 10% a Windows smartphone.

“The iPhone is quickly replacing the BlackBerry in the mindshare of consumers and the executive office for many retailers,” noted Greg Buzek, president of IHL.

Among mobile-commerce findings, the study said 35% of smartphone users have received or redeemed a coupon received via text message and 41% have checked competitive prices while in a retail store using Amazon, Red Laser, or another comparison shopping tool.

And more than half (54%) of retailers surveyed indicated they’ll be able to scan customer coupons directly at the point-of-sale from a user’s mobile phone screen. Toys “R” Us, for instance, announced today that its stores nationwide now have the ability to scan mobile coupons and e-gifts at check-out.

The IHL/RetailConnections findings were based on a survey of 570 consumers and 66 retailers.

by Mark Walsh, Tuesday, November 9, 2010, 3:15 PM

Another day, another report on the fast-paced smartphone market.  The NPD Group today published its latest report on smartphone OS market share, with Android remaining the clear winner when compared with last year’s results.

The report focused on data concerning Q3 2010 and indicate that Android has seen substantial year-over-year gains, while Apple’s iOS remained flat and Blackberry continues its fall from the top.  In Q3 2009, Android held just 3% of all smartphones sales in the US, putting it last on the list in terms of the big three, while RIM was still flying hight with 46% of smartphone sales in the US.

What a difference a year makes.  Android has now skyrocketed to the number one position with 44% of US smartphone sales, while RIM moves into third place with just 22% of the market — less than half of what it saw just a year prior.  Apple, meanwhile, has remained steady in the number two spot with 23% of the market — down from 29% in Q3 2009.

While these numbers show Android as the clear winner, the logistics behind the open source OS make it an unfair comparison to both RIM and iOS.  Things will undoubtedly change when and if the Verizon iPhone is introduced, and newcomers like Windows Phone and an updated version of WebOS emerge.

Eight in 10 US mobile phone users currently uses or will use mobile text coupons within 24 months, according to [pdf] a new study from IHL Group and RetailConnections. Looking at a variety of retail-related consumer mobile activities, text coupons lead both in terms of current engagement (25%) and planned engagement in the next 12 months (47%). Probably due to the high percentage of consumers who will already be using mobile text coupons within 12 months, planned engagement within 12 to 24 months is only 9%, tied for second-lowest with consumer self-checkout.

The other two retail-related consumer mobile activities currently used by more than 20% of mobile phone subscribers are regular barcode (22%) and 2D barcode (21%). Coupons on mobile screen only have 16% current engagement, but 38% planned engagement within the next 12 months, second only to text coupons in this category.

iPhone/iPod Most Supported Consumer Mobile Platform by Wide Margin

Study data indicates 85% of US retailers support consumer use of the iPhone/iPod platform, and 88% plan to do so in the future. This current support rate dwarfs the 55% support of the next-most-popular consumer mobile platform among retailers, the iPad platform. However, 72% of retailers plan to support consumer iPad use in the future.

While only 50% of retailers currently support consumer use of the Android platform, 79% plan to support it in the future. Windows Mobile has 43% current support and 53% planned support, while Blackberry has slightly lower current support (40%) but slightly higher future support (58%).

4 in 10 Retailers Support Store Associate Blackberry Platform

Retailers display different preferences for supporting mobile platform use by their employees, and at much lower percentages. Part of the reason for this lower level of support may be the higher cost involved in supplying store associates with mobile devices, as opposed to letting consumers use their own devices in the store.

The iPhone/iPod and Windows Mobile platforms are tied for second place with 42% current support. However, 67% of retailers plan future iPhone/iPod support, while only 41% plan future Windows Mobile support, implying a small number of retailers currently supporting employee use of Windows Mobile devices plan to end it.

Android only has 26% current support, but comparatively high 41% planned future support. Windows CE/7 also has 26% current support, but similar to Windows Mobile planned future support for this platform dips to 22%.

Texting Most Popular Mobile Plan Feature

Perhaps explaining the popularity of text coupons, more than nine in 10 mobile phone owners (94%) have text included in their phone plan, according to other study results. This makes texting by far the most popular feature of US consumer mobile phone plans. Other popular features include email (80%) and mobile web (78%).

About the Data: The data for this study were obtained by performing a web-based survey during the August-September 2010 timeframe. A total of 570 responses were used, of which 66 were retailers.