A report from Adjust has revealed that mobile apps that allow users to carry out safe shopping online were increasingly successful in their efforts to convince existing users to return and place repeat orders in April, with a 43 per cent increase in this type of activity last month.

This follows on from the fact that retailers spent far less on acquiring new customers for their apps in April and instead focused their attentions on maximising the amount of cash earned from people who had already downloaded, installed and ordered from the software in the past.

The coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown measures which left most of the UK’s non-essential retail outlets closed also helped to prompt an uptick in online shopping, although it seems that in many cases consumers were eager to stick to using brands they knew and trusted rather than looking elsewhere.

Engagement levels with existing customers have been significantly higher as a result of this trend, so while getting newcomers on board has been as big a challenge as ever, some retailers have been able to make the most of the current situation.

Overall there was a 21 per cent increase in the number of e-commerce apps installed last month compared with March of this year, revealing just how steep the spike in interest has been. Even so, a lot of these downloads were attributed to existing customers choosing to reinstall an app they had previously used and subsequently deleted.

Even with the promise of bricks and mortar stores opening up again in the UK in mid-June, the burgeoning popularity of safe shopping online looks set to continue, especially since mobile devices and retail apps offer one of the most convenient ways to place e-commerce orders without leaving the house.