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9 million US mobile subscribers have discovered the next wave of technology to disrupt the retail industry. These consumers are actively using technology in a m-commerce environment via mobile devices. This figure represents 3.6% of US mobile subscribers, which shows that m-commerce is still in its infancy. 49% of all mobile subscribers say they expect to participate in m-commerce in the future, according to Nielsen Mobile. The m-commerce wave is building fast & set wash over the retail landscape like a tsunami. Of the 40m active mobile Web users in 4/08, 5m accessed mobile shopping & auction Web sites. This represents a staggering 73% increase from 4/07, when just 2.9m mobile users did so. Consumers who use m-commerce turn to Google, which is the leader in mobile Internet search provider share (61% in IQ 2008), followed by Yahoo (18%) & MSN (5%). Purchasing items via text messaging is another growing form of m-commerce, with 6.5m US mobile consumers claiming they have used text messaging to purchase an item. Some services work by having consumers send text messages to a phone number or mobile shortcode in order to be charged for goods or services directly on their mobile phone bills. ‘As more mobile commerce services become available & consumers develop a greater trust for phone-based transactions, we expect commerce to be an increasingly important part of the mobile experience next year & beyond,’ says Nic Covey, Nielsen Mobile. As of IQ 2008, 3.6% of US mobile subscribers (9.2m) have used their phone to pay for goods or services. Men are more likely than women to use their phone for commerce: 4.5% (4.9m) of men & 3.0% (4.3m) of women say they have made a purchase using their phone. Adults age 25-34 are the most likely to have made a purchase using their phone: 5.4% of that age group (3m people) have made a purchase, compared with 3.6% among the general mobile-subscriber population.