IMRG says UK mobile penetration might have plateaued

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Aug 27, 2015

New statistics from IMRG show that the percentage of UK online sales made via mobile and tablets in 2015's second quarter was 42%, the same as in Q1.

This is the first time the rate has remained static since 2010 - previously, it has risen rapidly. IMRG and Capgemini have been measuring smartphone and tablet sales penetration since 2010, when just 0.9% of online sales were completed through these devices, the company said.

There continues to be an increase in the percentage of visits to retail websites made via mobile devices, however, up to 60% in Q2 2015/16 from 58% in the previous quarter.

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Tina Spooner, chief information officer, IMRG: “On the surface it looks like sales via mobile devices have stalled, although these figures alone don’t tell the full story. While tablets currently account for almost three-quarters of sales through mobile devices, sales growth through smartphones is rising at around four-times the rate of that through tablets and conversion rates on both device types are increasing.

“Figures from a number of manufacturers show sales of tablet devices have also slowed – it may be that the next mobile growth spurt will be purely driven by increasing consumer confidence in using smartphones for online shopping.”

Ben Carter, marketing director, notonthehighstreet.com: “Throughout Q2, we've seen that the volume of customers using smartphones to purchase from notonthehighstreet.com has steadily increased. Smartphones now account for a significant amount of traffic and continue to drive conversion; it's clear that they are very much a key component in the online shopping journey for today's customers.”