Mobile shopping is expected to increase dramatically this holiday season – mobile commerce spending on smartphones and tablets in the U.S. increased $5.8 billion in Q3 (a 26 percent increase over the same quarter in 2012), according to comScore. However, during the same period, mobile malware threats increased 26 percent, making consumers more than more vulnerable to mobile cyber attacks.

According to a Tripwire, Inc., survey of U.S. and UK consumers, 91 percent of U.S. and 83 percent of UK respondents believe that shopping on a computer provides more security than shopping on a mobile device. Fifty-nine percent of U.S. respondents and 65 percent of UK respondents say they do not have any security software on their mobile phones. Despite concerns, though, many plan to use their mobile phones for holiday shopping, Fort Mill Times reports.

Key U.S. findings include:

• Respondents from wealthier households are three times more likely to shop for their holidays using their mobile devices.
• Male respondents are 50 percent more likely than female respondents to shop via mobile device at work.
• 50 percent more men than women say the convenience of mobile shopping overrides security concerns.

“Shopping on mobile devices is all about convenience, and it is clear from the data that consumers are quite willing to forgo security for that convenience,” says Dwayne Melancon, chief technology officer for Tripwire, in the article. “The survey also seems to confirm the stereotype that men do not like to shop and will go out of their way to avoid shopping malls. It is also not surprising that affluent households are more likely to shop on mobile devices this holiday season; after all, they will have more discretionary income to spend and typically place a higher value on the convenience of shopping online.”