In the second quarter of 2011, total retail search volumes grew by 27 per cent compared with the same quarter a year earlier. The increase was driven by a rise in mobile search volumes of 216 per cent year-on-year.

The growth of retail search volumes for multi-channel retailers (usually those using stores and the internet) reached 14 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 compared with 21 per cent for pure online retailers.

The number of overseas consumers searching for UK retailers grew by 34 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. And UK consumers searching for overseas retailers grew by 76 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 compared with the same period a year earlier.

London comprised 36 per cent of all retail search volumes in the UK.

Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said: "While the retail sector as a whole is going through a difficult period, the boom in online retail continues. The star performer is mobile, with the number of retail searches being carried out on smartphones and tablets more than trebling for this quarter compared with the same period last year."

Peter Fitzgerald, Retail Director, Google, said: "Mobile searches remained constant throughout the quarter, largely unaffected by the changing temperatures. This is unsurprising given the ‘always on' nature of mobile users. In Consumer Electronics, new devices were all the rage.”

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