// Smartphone sales are due to rise by 66% or 12 million this year
// Shoppers now prefer to shop via smartphone than at a shopping centre
// Smartphone sales are now equal to desktop and laptop sales
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A record £25 billion is due to be spent by UK citizens via their smartphones in 2019 marking a 66 per cent rise on last year.
According to new data from uSwitch.com, UK shoppers are now more likely to purchase an item via a smart device than go to a shopping centre, with 58 per cent using smart devices compared to 56 per cent visiting shopping centres.
More than 30 million Brits are set to use a smart device to shop this year, rising by 12 million compared to 2018, and smart devices are now as popular as laptops and desktops.
Sixty-nine per cent of shoppers said they bought clothes online, making it the most popular category by a wide margin, while 51 per cent said they bought books, and 47 per cent said they bought groceries.
“For so many of us now, our smartphone is an extension of our hand and we have it with us at all times, meaning that we can shop whenever and wherever we like,” uSwitch mobile expert Ru Bhikha said.
“With smartphone and tablet shopping now a £25 billion industry, it’s hardly surprising that major retailers have long adopted a mobile-first approach to their websites and have even introduced their own apps to make the user experience as easy as possible.
“Cleaner user journeys and the ease of one-click purchasing will only add to the number of people shopping on their phones and tablets.”
By website, Amazon is by far the most commonly used by British according to the research, with 89 per cent of shoppers stating they used the site last year.
Ebay came second with 63 per cent, while Argos and Tesco followed with 41 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.
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