Mobile Shopping is Driving UK Retail eCommerce Sales

Generic Stock Shopper LBS geogateShopping on mobile devices continues to rapidly grow, with a larger and larger portion of UK retail eCommerce sales made up of purchases made on smartphones and tablets. A report by eMarketer shows that mobile currently accounts for 25 per cent of all eCommerce retail in the UK, and is set to grow to almost 40 per cent by 2018.

The report estimates that UK retail eCommerce sales will grow by 16 per cent this year, aided by the improving economy and increasing use of mobile devices. In contrast, total retail sales are predicted to rise just 3.6 per cent, and will continue to slow. mCommerces growth, while slowing, is still predicted to grow by 65 per cent from 2013s figures.

“mCommerce is seeing such good growth for a couple of reasons: mobile device ownership is rising rapidly, and consumers are becoming more comfortable making purchases on these devices,” said Bill Fisher, UK analyst at eMarketer. “Tablets, in particular, offer a larger and more tactile interface for online shopping, which is why were seeing particularly fast growth in tablet commerce.”

Despite smartphone usage being far more common, tablet mCommerce sales are growing considerably faster (79 per cent compared to smartphones 43 percent in 2014) and already contribute roughly double the level of sales via smartphones. In 2014, sales from tablets will account for 65 per cent of all mCommerce sales in the UK. The report points to tablets larger, more inviting screens and tendency to be used at home in the evening as the reasons behind this trend.