KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — More than half of internet users in the country are switching over to conducting online searches on their smartphones instead of on desktops, laptops and even tablets, Google Malaysia revealed today.

The tech giant said the results of their Mobile Moments Malaysia research showed 52 per cent of searches are done on smartphones with computers and laptops trailing far behind at 36 per cent while tablets limp in at a meager 12 per cent.

“Mobile is probably the one thing on your person that's present 24/7, more than a tablet would be and definitely more than a PC will be," Google Malaysia's managing director Sajith Sivanandan told a news conference here.

He believed that the popularity of smartphones among Internet users today was due to technological developments that have increased the computing power in the nifty pocket-sized gadget that allows more people to carry them everywhere.

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Additionally, Google's research showed that women in Malaysia were 24 per cent more likely to search on their smartphones compared to men.

According to the survey, searches for navigation topped the list, followed by searches for restaurants and social network, with its frequency peaking on Thursdays and Fridays in anticipation of the weekend.

Online shopping favourites were for appliances followed by beauty and apparel.

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Google's research also showed that 91 per cent of searches lead to some sort of follow-up action be it looking up additional information, visiting a store or website, or purchasing an item.

"They're visiting stores they didn't before, they're buying more things in stores, and they're buying more things online," Sajith said.

This, in turn, supported the assertion that Malaysians were more inclined to research a product before purchasing it, with three out of four searches turning into purchases within five hours, which also speaks to the immediacy in the country's spending habits, Sajith said.

"If you think of it, you're in a store already and you search for it or compare it, 'Is this good is this not good,' and once you get there, you likely buy it,

"If you're in a mall, most of us spend three, four hours in a mall, five hours maybe, and so what happens then you're going around a few stores and you're doing that," he said, referring to smartphone users' habit to compare prices online before making a purchase, all while shopping.