Fashion retailers beware - mobile sales 'may have reached a plateau'

In order to keep up with modern consumers ever changing shopping habits, fashion retailers have been launching a slew of new mobile apps, in an attempt to connect with shoppers in their new playing ground. Thursday morning alone saw the offical roll out of premium online retailer's newest app The Net Set, whilst Swipe Boutique, the self-proclaimed fashion app based on Tinder for handbags, launched on Googleplay. However as the mobile fashion market becomes further and further saturated with numerous shopping apps and digital stores, data from IMRG and Capgemini suggests that mobile sales in the UK "may have reached a plateau."

Mobile sales growth in the UK show signs of 'normalisation'

According to data from the IMRG Capgemini quarterly benchmark, 42 percent of UK online sales were made via mobile and tablet devices during the second quarter of the year - the same percent witnessed during the first quarter of the year. This is the first time that the percentage had remained static since IMRG and Capgemini began measuring smartphone and tablet sales in 2010, when a mere 0.9 percent of online sales were completed through mobile devices.

Since then, mobiles sales penetration in the UK has increased at a staggering rate, hitting 37 percent in 2014. Over the past few months, the retail research and consultancy firms have noted signs of "normalisation," with year-on-year growth for 2015 being comparable to the same periods in 2014. "On the surface it looks like sales via mobile devices have stalled, although these figures alone don't tell the full story," explains Tina Spooner, chief information officer for IMRG.

Fashion retailers should work to increase consumer confidence to boost mobile sales

"While tablets currently account for almost three-quarters of sales through mobile devices, sales growth through smartphones is rising at around four-times the rate of that through tablets and conversion rates on both device types are increasing," says Spooner. "Figures from a number of manufacturers show sales of tablet devices have also slowed – it may be that the next mobile growth spurt will be purely driven by increasing consumer confidence in using smartphones for online shopping."

Alex Smith-Bingham, head of digital, consumer products and retail at Capgemini adds: "UK retailers have capitalised on the available consumer technology to create an engaging and reliable experience for their customers. As this technology evolves and is enhanced, so too will our shopping experience as I predict retailers will approach the opportunity with the same level of zeal as they have with mobile devices." Fashion retailers should therefore focus on offering an engaging app or platform which enhances the consumer shopping experience, rather than hinder it.