The use of mobile devices for online shopping in the UK is on the rise, a new report from FullSIX London has revealed.
Data shows that 18 per cent of UK retailer’s websites have been visited by a mobile device, with 14 per cent of Brits making a purchase.
FullSIX’s report looks at the buying behaviour of Brits across 44 different retailers. The majority of Brits (69 per cent) will visit a retailer’s website, but when it comes to making a purchase consumers are pretty evenly split between buying in-store and online. Some 52 per cent of Brits would still prefer to buy something in-store, showing that although online shopping is becoming more popular, it still hasn’t overtaken the high street.
Amazon is showing other ecommerce sites how it’s done. It is currently the UK’s top retailer, with 83 per cent of British consumers making a visit to the site in the past three months. Moreover, although it has no physical stores on the high street, around 80 per cent of its users have bought something from the site, reports retailtimes.co.uk.
A separate study by UCAS Media reveals students’ online habits. Most notably, students tend to shun the high street when it comes to purchasing entertainment, with 73.4 per cent buying their music online and less than ten per cent visiting a physical store, reports thedrum.com.
Although not everyone prefers to make a purchase online, ecommerce sites still have a significant impact on in-store sales. Hugh Baillie, chief executive of FullSIX London, was surprised by this.
“We knew that online played a key role in how consumers chose a product and a retailer, but we did not anticipate the power and influence of digital on sales in-store,” he stated.
Author: Laura Varley
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