As UK consumers increasingly turn to their smartphones for convenience, mobile will continue to be the fastest growing area within the UK retail market, with spend increasing by £17.1 billion over the next five years to reach £33.2 billion by 2024.

GlobalData’s latest market analysis predicted that mobiles will account for over 40 per cent of online expenditure by 2024, while tablet spend will decline to 14.4 per cent by that date.

Sofie Willmott, senior retail analyst at the consultancy, commented: “Retailer investment in mobile-optimised sites and apps, alongside advancements in technology and the surge in social commerce will all contribute to significant mobile growth over the next few years.

“Clothing and footwear will be a driving force behind the channel, with mobile accounting for 19.1 per cent of all expenditure in this sector by 2023, up from 9.2 per cent in 2019.”

With over half of online shoppers now purchasing via mobiles, retailers have been forced to prioritise mobile development to provide a smooth shopping journey.

The report found that 80.2 per cent of online shoppers under 35 have purchased using their smartphone, encouraged by key players such as Amazon, ASOS and H&M that have ensured their mobile channels are easy to use.

Tools have been introduced to enhance the browsing experience, such as wish lists and visual search, alongside seamless purchase options like Klarna’s ‘buy now, pay later’ and Amazon’s ‘1-click ordering’, which ensure purchasing on a smaller screen is hassle free.

Willmott concluded: “While achieving growth in the UK retail market remains challenging as shoppers hold back on non-essential buys, retailers must respond to changing shopping behaviour and focus their efforts on the mobile channel to capitalise on the shift in spend.”

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