Mobile commerce has continued to increase its share of the UK eRetail market, with over a third of all online sales now made on mobile devices, according to the latest results from the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking report.

The report, based on sales figures from February to April 2014, showed mobile commerce rose to 34 per cent, up from 32 per cent in the previous quarter and only 20 per cent in the same period last year. Over the past four years, mCommerce penetration has grown by 3,400 per cent, showing a dramatic shift towards smartphone and tablet use in eRetail.

The same report also showed that visits to eRetail websites via mobile devices are also on the rise, with 48 per cent of hits coming from smartphone and tablet users, up from 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2013. Other highlights included a continued decline in click & collect sales, down to 14 per cent of multichannel online sales from 16 per cent in the previous quarter. The report is based on data from 40 key retailers, including Marks & Spencer, New Look, Debenhams, John Lewis and B&Q.

“The latest Quarterly Benchmarking results highlight the increasing importance of mCommerce to online retailers in the UK,” said Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG. “The widespread adoption of mobile devices is helping to drive growth in mRetail visits to a tipping point and, although growth in mCommerce itself is settling, this is unsurprising when we consider these results are coming off an increasingly higher base.”

Chris Webster, VP for consumer retail and technology at Capgemini, said the results illustrate just how integral a role mobile now plays in consumers’ shopping journey. “Retailers have taken huge strides over the last few years, rapidly evolving their mCommerce platforms to match the expectations of their customers, enabled by the available technology,” he said.