Online shoppers favour smartphones and tablets over desktop computers

More than one in three sales are now completed on the devices

Shopping online (Getty)

Shoppers are spending more time checking out shopping websites on their mobile phones and tablets than on desktop computers for the first time ever, according to new research.

The IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking Report also found that more than one in three sales are now completed on smartphones and tablets, with clothes shoppers particularly keen to spend on the go.

Retailers are seeing a typical pattern where a shopper will start eyeing up an item on the way to work via their smartphone, take another look during their lunchtime and finally complete the purchase through their tablet in the evening from the comfort of their living room.

Around 80 per cent of mobile sales are completed via a tablet, according to the research.

The report also found that spending during the three months to end of July was £24.2bn, with £8.7bn spent on the devices.

Mark Lewis, online director at John Lewis, said: “Today, over half of the traffic to johnlewis.com comes from mobile and tablet devices and we've also seen an increase in the conversion rate of traffic to sales.

“Customers want to be able to shop seamlessly across all channels and mobile is now the go-to choice alongside visiting our shops.”

Tina Spooner, Chief Information Officer at IMRG, said: “With over half of all e-retail traffic now coming via smartphones and tablet devices, the latest Quarterly Benchmarking results reveal a huge landmark in the growth of mobile commerce.

“Considering that as recently as 2010 mobile visits to e-retail sites accounted for less than three per cent of traffic, this latest milestone represents staggering growth of 2,000 per cent over the past four years.”