Tablets and mobile take on the tills during UK Christmas shopping season
Sales on smartphones and tablets have grown 52 per cent year on year, according to fresh research by Rakuten Marketing into e-commerce over the Christmas shopping season in the UK.
Tablets accounted for 81 per cent of mobile sales in the UK, while sales on smartphones increased 94 per cent since December 2012.
"In 2013 we saw a mobile boom, shoppers chose their tablets rather than the tills, highlighting how crucial it is for retailers to have a strong multichannel offering," said Mark Haviland, managing director, Rakuten Marketing Europe.
"Shoppers are either buying on the go via smartphone or engaging with brands on their tablets at home. It’s imperative that retailers work to target these shoppers to continue success in 2014,” he adds.
Research group GlobalWebIndex has recently claimed that the UK is the most developed ecommerce market in the world; with the highest proportion of spend going through online channels.
In light of YouGov's prediction that 1.3m tablets were gifted in the UK this Christmas - partly due to the growing popularity of cheaper devices - an upward trend for mobile commerce in 2014 seems probable.
But while an increasing number of shoppers took to their mobile devices, purchasing on desktops over Christmas saw double-digit growth, according to Rakuten, which also reported a 31 per cent increase in same store sales in the UK.
The findings come as Rakuten Marketing adds several advertisers to its client roster. Beauty brand Crabtree & Evelyn and Big Cup Little Cup Coffee will run affiliate programmes in the UK, whilst luxury designer fashion brand Joseph signs to Rakuten MediaForge, the company’s display service in the UK.