Just under half of top international retailers still dont offer an iPhone application, according to a new study from Episerver that combines research from 11 countries including the UK, USA, Australia and various European countries.

The research, which benchmarked 100 leading retailers around the world, found that the majority of retailers still relied purely on mobile-compatible websites, with 46 not providing an iPad-compatible app and 62 per cent not offering Android tablet apps.

The study found that UK retailers offered the best mobile shopping experiences, with John Lewis singled out as the best brand for mobile offering, followed by Home Depot in the US and Swedish-owned Ikea.

Despite their significant presence in both the mobile and retail markets, both Amazon US and Amazon UK failed to rank within the top five retailers for global mobile strategy, coming in at sixth and seventh respectively.

“Its surprising to see just how many of the worlds top retailers are failing to make the jump to a mobile-first approach, said David Bowen, director of product management at Episerver. “While mobile and responsive web design should be a retailers first priority given that web is more often a consumers first port of call, mobile apps are playing an increasingly dominant role in the customer journey.

“Mobile apps must factor in any online retailers strategy, enabling them to keep their business at the forefront of the customers mind and ensure products are never more than a click, tap or swipe away.”