A new report from Conjure has predicted that 2015 will be a bumper year for British consumers carrying out safe shopping online, through dedicated smartphone apps created by retailers, according to Econsultancy.

Purchases made through smartphone and tablet apps will be up by almost a quarter this year, which means that the average user will spend over £100 through this type of service.

In 2014, the typical online shopper could be expected to part with £89 through branded applications, although as in previous years, it seems that there is a difference in the amount spent depending on the type mobile operating system that is present.

Apple fans are bigger spenders than their Android-owning contemporaries, with iOS accounting for an average of £26.56 more app-based purchases last year.

There are a number of reasons for this, but the chief cause may be the culture that Apple has helped to foster within its app ecosystem, with customers happy to pay for content because this is what they have come to recognise as necessary. Meanwhile, Android’s glut of free apps and content, means that users are less willing to spend cash.

About 5.9 per cent of the apps that people have downloaded onto their smart devices are branded and related to retailers and m-commerce. This is up by less than half a percent on the previous year, suggesting that there is not a huge amount of growth in downloads, even if spending is on the rise.

The study also found that people are put off using smartphone apps to carry out safe shopping online, if the software persistently provides them with updates or notifications that do not have much relevance to their needs. So improved app designs could help retailers overcome the lack of download growth seen last year.