Despite its runaway growth in apps, ads, and overall consumer usage, some retailers still have a surprisingly stubborn “wait and see” attitude regarding mobile commerce. According to a new Forbes Insight survey attitude 73% of the more than 300 U.S. retailers surveyed for the report say they have some type of mobile initiative in place, while 20% are in the process of evaluating the mobile channel, the study finds. All retailers in the poll had multiple locations and annual revenues of $100 million or more.

The study shows:

• 10% of retailers surveyed had already widely implemented a mobile strategy
• 24% were expanding their strategy rapidly
• 39% were in pilot programs
• 20% were evaluating their mobile strategies
• 7% did not plan to pursue a strategy

Retailers have confidence about the mobile channel, the report says. For example, some feared that mobile phone-toting customers would use third-party shopping programs to find merchandise at a lower price. But over time, the study says, many have seen that as less of a threat than an opportunity. Those opportunities include enabling shoppers can research products and prices on their handsets using cameras, bar code scanners, and other mobile applications. Retailers are also becoming more confident in providing immediate incentives via geo-tracking.

Despite the overall optimism, a significant 20% say mobile, while promising, is unproven, and they are taking an incremental approach to it. Additionally 23% say they are developing mobile tools mainly to keep up with competitors. Still a large 47% say they believe that by being the first to enable mobile engagement they will earn a better chance of establishing intimacy and loyalty with customers.

The report says fundamental tools such as mobile ads and mobile websites are the most common. Other retailers are focused on more transaction-based and customer service- oriented applications. The most sophisticated are putting in place location- and context-based apps. But surprisingly, for many retailers, mobile is much more than a “scaled-back” version of the Internet. They are still evaluating which mobile devices and operating systems to support, relying primarily on the device’s current and potential market share and the demographics of the device’s user base. Retailers are also largely “satisfied” with their mobile efforts, with six out of ten saying their mobile channel returns are either meeting or exceeding expectations.