Mobile commerce appears to be slow in getting off the ground in the US, according to statistics analysed by eMarketer.

The research company noted that a survey conducted by Nielsen Mobile last year suggested that just 9.2 million US mobile phone users had bought a product or service with their handsets - compared with the fact eMarketer estimates that there were 270 million subscribers in 2008.

It went on to highlight figures from a study by Internet Retailer indicating that seven per cent of web-based retailers had a dedicated mobile commerce site as of last year.

Furthermore, several research studies seem to be at odds over the types of products and services that consumers are most likely to purchase with their mobile phones, eMarketer said.

PriceGrabber.com's poll found that ringtones and music were the most popular mobile purchases, while a survey by Harris Interactive for Billing Revolution discovered that consumers were most willing to purchase pizza and tickets for movies and events with their phones.

"Despite a rising level of comfort with mobile technology, the mobile commerce space still has a long way to grow," eMarketer said.

A recent study carried out by Acquity Group and reported by Internet Retailer suggested that just five per cent of the top 500 online retailers have websites in place that are specially optimised for the iPhone or mobile phones in general.