Although smartphones and tablets are widely used in the UK for safe shopping online, the latest report from Adobe has ranked Britain as the world’s fifth most mobile-saturated market, according to Retail Times.

Forty four per cent of website visits made in 2015 by UK consumers originated from mobile devices, putting it just behind Japan, the Philippines and Ireland, all of which enjoyed a saturation rate of just under 50 per cent.

Saudi Arabia was the runaway winner in terms of mobile browsing, with 62 per cent of all site visits last year made from portable devices.

Interestingly, the report found that while mobile browsing across the world was up by 18 per cent in 2015, there was actually a drop in the amount of tablet usage.

While tablet computers have found favour among those looking to carry out safe shopping online, it seems that smartphones are eclipsing their larger stable mates as the years progress.

This also reflects the reality of slowing tablet sales, which have left even manufacturers like Apple with an issue when it comes to shifting their slates.

Report spokesperson, Tamara Gaffney, said that the increasing size of smartphone screens is probably to blame for the decline in tablet browsing. And so-called ‘phablets,’ like the iPhone 6S Plus, are being chosen as an all-in-one portable solution today, while in the past people would have purchased both a smartphone and tablet to meet their mobile shopping needs.

Gaffney also said that with the widespread use of mobile devices for browsing, retailers need to make sure that their sites are optimised for access or else face the prospect of losing customers. And with mobile browsing only set to rise in 2016, this is a trend that no company can afford to ignore.