The UK is turning into a leading light when it comes to mobile shopping, with 46 per cent of all online purchases now carried out via smartphones or tablets, according to a new report from Criteo.

This means that only Japan has a higher rate of m-commerce usage, allowing the UK to overtake other countries, such as South Korea, to take second place.

Moreover, it looks like British consumers love carrying out safe shopping online from their portable devices so much that the proportion of people doing so may soon overtake the current frontrunner. This is because the UK was the only major m-commerce marketplace to see growth in the first quarter of 2015.

Furthermore, the report revealed that mobile apps are hugely important when it comes to ensuring that consumers carry out transactions, as they now account for almost half of all m-commerce purchases. Conversion rates are much higher in apps than on mobile websites, which is why many retailers are prioritising the development of their own apps, to help boost sales.

Consumers are no longer content to shop online using a single platform. Instead, around 40 per cent of purchases which are made involve a range of devices. The combination of mobiles and tablets, as well as traditional laptop and desktop computers, allows people to research products and then commit to a purchase at a later date.

Retailers are being urged to optimise their websites to allow for improved conversion rates, as those that do can almost double the number of conversions they achieve, according to analysts.

Meanwhile, iOS was found to still be well ahead of Android in terms of conversions in the UK and elsewhere, indicating that Apple fans are more likely to shop online from their smartphones than anyone else.