Mobile commerce channel set for Christmas boost

The share of UK online shopping traffic coming through mobile devices is anticipated to surge over the festive holiday, particularly on Christmas Day, according to PCA Predict figures.

The sustained growth in the use of mobile devices for online shopping in 2017, coupled with a usage analysis of Christmas 2016, suggests that consumers will be using their tablets and mobile phones for shopping rather than their desktop devices this festive season.

From 1 January to 27 November 2017, desktop maintained a slight edge in terms of online shopping, with 51 per cent of consumers using a desktop compared to 49 per cent opting for mobile, PCA Predict revealed. But Christmas Day in 2016 saw 67 per cent of online shoppers browse through their mobile, against 33 per cent on desktop.

Chris Boaz, head of marketing at PCA Predict, said: “What we’re already seeing this year is a small but stable growth among mobile shoppers. As mobile become more user friendly, consumers are able to conduct more of their lives through their personal devices. We can expect to see more people relying on their smartphones as screens grow, data and roaming advance, and online retailers optimise for mobile.

“I expect Christmas to see a boom in mobile usage, especially considering that through using mobile devices people won’t have to leave family commitments to cash in on the best deals,” he added. “Rather, they’ll be able to buy the hottest ticket items right from the dinner table.”

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


The Very Group
The Very Group transformed range and assortment planning using Board.

Watch the full video

Smarter merchandise planning across the retail value chain
In this webinar, Matt Hopkins, Head of Retail Solutions, Board, Catherine Tooke, SVP Product & Planning, Sweaty Betty, and Subir Gupta, Managing Principal, Thought Provoking Consulting join Retail Systems Editor Jonathan Easton to discuss the findings of the recent Retail Systems report The Merchandise Planning Challenge: How are retailers harnessing technology to optimise planning and retain customers? and examine the innovations that are improving retail planning.