Sky is the limit as mobile kicks in for travel brands

Mobile is big and getting bigger -- OK we knew that. But, Groupon and travel research firm PhoCusWright separately released mobile usage statistics documenting the surge.

Deals company Groupon says 25% of Groupons in North America were purchased via a mobile device in December 2011, and its number of mobile app users increased more than 200% year over year to more than 9 million.

Over the past year, the mobile app's enhancements, such as Groupon Getaways, Groupon Goods and Groupon Now (the deals can only be redeemed that day), undoubtedly contributed to the increased user traction.

And, it wasn't just consumers getting dental work or purchasing hotel stays who were getting in on the mobile action.

Groupon says more than 12,000 merchant partners wielded Groupon's mobile app for merchants on iOS or Android devices to redeem vouchers or track purchases.

None of this should come as a great surprise if you glance at PhoCusWright's Mobile Hits the Mainstream: Technology and Industry Trends, a new study which sizes and identifies trends in the the leisure/unmanaged business traveler mobile market in the US through 2013.

Among the findings, PhoCusWright states:

Some $2.6 billion in mobile bookings were transacted in 2011 by leisure/unmanaged business travelers in the US;

Mobile gross bookings from these travelers will increase from just less than 1% of the total travel market in the US in 2011 to 1.7% in 2012 and 2.6% in 2013;

Business travelers in the US are the mobile early-adopter champions with 73% owning a smartphone compared with 52% of leisure travelers;

The growth of mobile bookings in emerging markets, where mobile becomes the primary booking mode, will outpace increases in mobile bookings in the developed world, where mobile interfaces will require simplification;