M-commerce responsible for most UK online sales

Mobile phones and tablets are now responsible for more online sales in Britain than traditional desktop or laptop computers, the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking report showed.

In the key holiday and clearance season running from November to January, m-commerce accounted for a history-making 51 percent of e-sales. That was a significant increase on 45 percent in the previous quarter and a rise from 40 percent year-on-year.

While smartphone growth has been fast, tablets are still the primary devices for mobile-based shopping with a share of 33 percent, compared to 18 percent for phones.

Desktop computers are rapidly losing their share

Regular computers are still the biggest overall category though with a 49 percent share, but it’s a share that’s shrinking rapidly.

The change to mobile devices is even more marked when website traffic alone is measured, rather than sales. On that basis, mobile devices accounted for 66 percent of site visits, rising from 63 percent in the previous quarter and 53 percent a year ago.

IMRG cited shoppers feeling more confident about m-commerce plus retailer improvements to their websites and larger-screen phones for the change.

Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG, said: “Smartphones have played an important role in the overall online shopping process for a long time - often used for research and comparison on the go - but over the past year they have really started to become a major component of the checkout process too and that is what is driving this leap in mobile penetration.”