Last year £7.5 billion was spent through smartphones and tablets, accounting for 12 per cent of the £62.4 billion of total e-retail sales, according to new research.
The IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking showed that this is a significant increase on 2011, when the proportion of e-retail spend that went through mobile devices was just four per cent of the total.
However, the performance of mobile e-retail did not quite meet expected heights in regards to both visits and sales. The year began very well and it looked like they could have reached 20 per cent of transactions by the end of 2012, but instead it tailed off.
When it came to visits, it looked as if the year might finish at 30 per cent coming from mobile devices. Yet, it only reached 24 per cent.
Interestingly, the majority of these sales are coming through tablets, rather than smartphones.
"The slowdown of sales made on a smartphone suggests there is an issue with the customer experience retailers are offering," said Chris Webster, vice president of consumer products and retail at Capgemini.
"If retailers are to reinvigorate the level of adoption, they must recognise the difference in the mobile channels and build specific customer experiences for the smartphone."
