Retailers are expecting to see a shopping surge through mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) on UK retail sites this December, according to new data from IMRG and Capgemini.
It has been a year of consistently strong growth for mobile, with sales through the channel currently accounting for 27 per cent of online retail sales and 38 per cent of retail site visits.
This years figure will double to £2.9bn from the £1.45bn spent over the same period in 2012.
For the first time this Christmas IMRG and Capgemini are able to report on how the sales will be distributed over device types.
The split is currently running at 80 / 20 between tablets and smartphones, which means that the forecast spend by device is £2.3bn and £600m.
A separate report from the British Retail Consortium found online sales of non-food products grew 16 per cent in November versus a year ago.
It found that online sales were driving overall sales and said online would continue to soar in the run up to Christmas.
Tina Spooner, Chief Information Officer at IMRG said mobile devices have fundamentally altered the way that customers engage with brands.
“The nature of these devices means that there is a wide range of potential engagement contexts, but the major shift really has been toward a uniquely leisurely browsing type of behaviour in front of the TV. The fact that m-retail spend is double that recorded in December 2012 demonstrates just how much this approach to shopping has taken hold this year.”
Chris Webster, VP, Head of Retail Consulting and Technology at Capgemini commented: “If we thought that the first decade of the 21st century had turned the world of retail upside down, the second decade is likely to feel that we are inside a tumble dryer.
“The growth of m-Retail, driven first by tablet devices but now increasingly by smartphones, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mobile adoption. The use of smartphones to deliver truly personal, relevant customer experiences which reflect the location and context of what we, the customer, are doing will completely change how we interact with retailers. We had better hang on to our smartphones as it is going to be a bumpy ride.”
