Is it time for your customer service to go mobile? New research sheds some light on the answer.

The question has always been: Will customers use their smartphones to buy or get help electronically? Yes, a good percentage of them will.

Almost 15% of all online purchases and inquiries over the 2011 holiday shopping season were done from smartphones, the December IBM Benchmark found. Sales from mobile phones doubled – it’s up to 11% of all sales – since the previous holiday season.

So customers aren’t just using their phones to call customer service. Increasingly, they’ll download apps allowing them browse, shop and order with the touch of a screen. Even better, customers’ interest in getting promotions, discounts and new arrival updates on their mobile devices is booming.

A good move: Survey customers to gauge their interest in mobile applications directly linked to your company and contact center before jumping into this channel both feet first.

Tags: IBM Benchmark, mobile customer service, smartphone app