Across the UK and the rest of Europe it looks likely that this festive shopping season will be the strongest ever for e-commerce outlets.

A study from Forrester has predicted that there will be a 12.1 per cent uptick in sales made  online, with the equivalent of $61.49 billion (£47.8 billion) set to be spent during this period.

British consumers lead the way in terms of mobile shopping, with an anticipated 53 per cent of transactions set to take place on a smartphone. This trend will be reflected elsewhere, although never with quite the same level of broad acceptance as in the UK.

The study also found that expectations about the mobile shopping experience are rising. Fifty one per cent of respondents said that they found it vexing to touch down on a site which does not offer a mobile-optimised design.

Meanwhile two thirds said that when they do encounter retail sites that are designed for use with portable handsets, they are more likely to make visits again further down the line.

Analysts anticipate that within five years almost a tenth of Europe’s total e-commerce sales will be generated from mobile devices. The influence of handsets will also be felt elsewhere, with almost a third of bricks and mortar-based purchases set to be shaped in some way by research carried out on smartphones.

Black Friday’s appearance later this week will officially kick-start shopping activities in the UK as well as in places like France, Germany and Spain. Forrester said that spending will be up 8 per cent during this event, with the promotional fever entering other marketplaces outside of retail. Service providers looking to sell to customers over the Black Friday weekend will look to piggyback on its success this year.