With 2012 marking the first holiday shopping season where the majority of mobile subscribers own smartphones, today’s shoppers are better equipped than ever to find the best deals and get feedback about products on their shopping lists—anytime, anywhere. From pre-purchase research, to sharing an exciting find with friends, new data from Nielsen shows that smartphone and tablet owners are embracing their devices to make the most of their shopping experience.

It’s no secret smartphone owners bring their handsets just about everywhere they go, and Nielsen found that mobile shoppers like to use their devices for in-store activities. In fact, 78 percent of mobile shoppers say they’ve used their smartphone to find a store, and another 63 percent have checked prices online while shopping. Overall, smartphone owners are three times more likely to use their handset for some in-store activities, like claiming mobile coupons (39%) or using shopping lists (40%), compared to tablet owners.

Tablet owners, on the other hand, prefer to use their devices for online shopping at home. Nearly half of tablet owners bought products using their devices, of whom nine out of ten say they made these purchases while shopping in their homes. Tablet owners are also more likely to use their devices to research products before making purchases (68%) and for reading online reviews (53%).

At checkout, more than a quarter of mobile shoppers use their devices for payment, regardless of which device they’re using. Overall, mobile shoppers tend to stay connected even after their purchases, with 18 percent of tablet owners writing reviews about the products, and 22 percent of smartphone owners commenting about their purchase through social media.