Topshop named best website for Christmas shoppers using tablets

"No other technology has had as much influence on e-commerce in recent times as tablet devices and research from the IMRG found that tablet devices now account for 85 per cent of mobile sales year-to-date,“ Quisma UK MD, Ellie Edwards-Scott, said, explaining why retailers must look at their tablet offering.

Tablet visitors to e-commerce sites also spend 20 per cent more than desktop shoppers, and twice as much as those using smartphones, so focussing on the look and feel of your tablet experience for consumers is vital in the run up to Christmas.

Topshop came out on top, scoring nearly 87 per cent across all categories, and was praised for its search bar, login function and shopping basket on its mobile site. Quisma also found that it also tailors its content and promotional campaigns and teasers to visitors, encourage customers to purchase.

Adidas and Nike followed Topshop, again scoring highly when it comes to providing easy to use websites for busy shoppers.

New Look (84 per cent), Lacoste (84.5 per cent), Hugo Boss (82 per cent) and Asos (82 per cent) found themselves in the middle of the field, only being praised for certain aspects of their sites.

At the lower end of the scale, Ralph Lauren (72 per cent), Zara (69 per cent) and H&M (66 per cent) performed poorly.

Zara in particular was criticised for its overall structure and display of information are missing – such as the print function, terms and conditions, data protection notice and trust elements – and the size of the homepage buttons which make it difficult to use on a tablet. Crucially, the site does not seem to have any mobile options, something which most tablet users have come to expect.

The brands were selected based on brand research studies including the Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2012 by WPP and the IMRG’s ‘Hitwise Hot Shops List’.