Smartphone shopping will directly influence £3.5bn of retail sales this Christmas, according to business advisory firm Deloitte. The company forecasts that £330m worth of purchases will be made on the devices themselves (plus another £500m on tablets), but says that smartphones will influence an additional £3.2bn of purchases, as consumers conduct research and compare prices on their mobiles. Overall, Deloitte believes total UK retail Christmas sales will increase by 1 per cent, with online sales increasing by 17 per cent.

Ian Geddes, UK head of retail at Deloitte, said that while the company remains cautious on the long-term outlook for UK retail, there are more reasons to be optimistic than pessimistic this Christmas.

“Consumer confidence has gradually improved over the course of the year, and despite the recent increase in inflation, it is much lower than it was 12 months ago, easing the pressure on households,” said Geddes. “Whilst it is not certain whether this will translate into higher spending, with consumers continuing to show a desire to save, we believe it will be enough to generate modest growth.”

And Colin Jeffrey, head of multichannel retail at Deloitte, said that the influence of smartphones on purchases will only increase. “The rapid adoption of tablets and the high number received as gifts this Christmas will drive a sharp increase in transactions through these devices,” he said. “However, whilst transaction growth is slower for smartphones, their broader influence is far greater. Whilst we forecast 10 per cent of in-store sales will be influenced by smartphones in December, by 2016 we predict this figure will be as high as 18 per cent for the full year, equivalent to £43bn of sales.”