Further evidence of tablet influence in UK e-commerce market

Wednesday, July 24, 2013 - 09:44 by Graham Miller

It seems that tablets are playing a major role in shaping the way that British consumers shop online, as this week, yet another study has revealed the growing influence of this type of gadget.

The British Retail Consortium, in association with Google, conducted a survey recently which found that the number of people carrying out retail-related searches from tablet devices has increased by 132 per cent in the past three months, according to The Drum.

This is higher than the 66 per cent rise in e-commerce oriented searches that took place from smartphone devices during the same period.

Meanwhile, the online shopping market as a whole saw searches grow by 15 per cent, which indicates that tablets are leading the way in terms of growth.

DIY and gardening-related searches were able to achieve the highest growth figures, rising by 170 per cent on tablet devices, as consumers prepared their homes for the summer sun, which has been a permanent fixture for the past couple of weeks.

Report spokesperson, Helen Dickinson, said that tablets were giving consumers the ability to enjoy safe shopping online in any room of the house, rather than having to sit at a desk in front of a PC for prolonged periods.

She went on to explain that tablets were also causing shifts in retail on an international scale, with more Brits looking for products from overseas retailers than ever before, with borders and boundaries being broken down in the search for bargains.

Dickinson said that retailers from the UK were working hard to make sure that domestic customers are still most likely to spend their money with a British company, so hopefully, the home market will remain buoyant and successful in the years to come.