New research by Barclays Corporate has revealed that consumer spending using mobile devices by Britons is set to reach £19.3bn a year by 2021, compared with £1.3bn spent today.
The study found that the surge will ride on the convenience of amending shopping lists, making payments and arranging delivery times. This means food and groceries remain the most popular ‘on the go’ mobile purchase, ringing up sales of nearly £300m for supermarkets and grocery stores this year, said Barclays Corporate. By 2021 this figure is expected to top £5bn.
Electricals are the second most popular mobile purchase with £290m due to be purchased via a mobile device this year. By 2021 sales are predicted to reach £2.1bn but, the purchase of electrical goods will fall back in the rankings to fourth position, in value terms, said Barclays Corporate.
It added personal care, which includes hair care, beauty, dental and baby products will enjoy the strongest growth with m-commerce sales rising from £63m in 2011 to £3.1bn in ten years time.
Barclays Corporate Head of Retail & Wholesale Richard Lowe said M-commerce is still a relatively niche channel accounting for 0.5% of total retail spend.
Lowe added, "However, with little new shop space coming into play the real growth opportunities lie on the virtual high street and those retailers which are prepared to invest will be at a significant advantage to the competition".
Lowe continued, "Stores have been the mainstay of retail for centuries and this is not about to change, particularly for those purchases which require a high-level of customer interaction such as clothing and footwear. The real value to be found in m-commerce is through its role as a multi-channel integrator and the indirect sales boost it generates by connecting physical stores with online."
