Retailers with mobile shopping apps are seeing 50 per cent of their online purchases take place on mobile devices, driven by in-app transactions, according to a report from commerce marketing company Criteo.

The report, made up of the individual browsing and purchasing data from over 5,000 retailers in more than 80 countries during Q4 2017, found that 54 per cent of the transactions on mobile devices were taking place via retailers’ apps. Furthermore, mobile app conversion was found to be three times higher than mobile web in the quarter, while omnichannel shoppers were found to generate seven times more value than offline only customers.

The findings are interesting as recent Gartner research found that 20 per cent of brands are going to abandon their mobile apps by 2019, due to low adoption and engagement.

“As smartphone usage continues to soar, increased app adoption and mobile browsing have resulted in interesting omnichannel shopping patterns,” said Jonathan Opdyke, chief strategy officer at Criteo. “Our latest report illustrates the power of shopping apps to drive significantly higher conversion rates and sales on mobile devices, and also confirms that omnichannel customers provide the highest lifetime value. Retailers and brands can take advantage of these trends to optimise their marketing efforts, allowing them to more effectively connect with shoppers to yield the strongest commerce results possible.”

The research also found that, even when apps are excluded, mobile devices account for 53 per cent of online transactions in the UK – well above the European average of 40 per cent.

Compared to Q4 2016, mobile web usage grew by 19 per cent, while tablet usage fell by 20 per cent and desktop was down 3.5 per cent.