Smartphone users are becoming increasingly influential in the world of safe shopping online, with new analysis of global usage in the first three months of 2018 showing that there has been a 66 per cent year on year increase in sales made via mobile devices.

This report from Cretio found that in the UK an impressive 54 per cent of all e-commerce sales are now carried out from portable gadgets, with smartphones alone accounting for 32 per cent of this total.

A similar trend is reflected worldwide, with retailers more likely to grow sales if they offer both a mobile-friendly site and a dedicated app which lets customers carry out safe shopping online while they are on the move.

Even in an age when multichannel retail habits are on the rise, it seems that the portability and convenience offered by smartphones have managed to outweigh the advantages of other platforms, putting them at the forefront of the market.

Report spokesperson, Jonathan Opdyke, said that the move from traditional PCs and laptops to mobile-focused shopping was reflected in the subsequent switch from website dominance to apps that has been recorded in recent months.

He also said that this was an opportunity not just for e-commerce outlets to thrive, but also for retailers with a bricks and mortar presence to combine mobile services with their in-store experiences. Customers are increasingly expecting to be able to use their handsets on the high street for a variety of purposes, so it makes sense for companies to capitalise on this, rather than missing important opportunities to make sales.

Even with muted performance across the UK’s retail sector as a whole, the rise of mobiles seems destined to continue unabated for the foreseeable future as consumers adopt on-the-go shopping experiences.