Brits are set to spend £27 Billion on mobile devices in 2017

New research has revealed that the UK consumer is anticipated to spend a staggering £27.02 billion on mobile devices through 2017, demonstrating a significant increase of 26% from the £21.51 billion sales in 2016.

If correct in its prediction, the UK will have spent more on mobile technology than any other Euro market, with Germany coming in 2nd at £24.54 billion and France 3rd at £11.54 billion.

The significance of this growth in photographic terms may be less than obvious at first glance; however, when you consider the fact that each and every one of these smart devices will offer image-capture solutions, [and usuallly some form of editing software] it’s clear to see that they will serve as a ‘first step’ in image making for many.

In line with the rise in mobile spending, the number of mobile shoppers in the UK is also expected to rise sharply, from 23 million in 2016 to over 28 million in 2017, as a greater number of retailers adopt a mobile-first strategy

The rise and rise of mobile

The growing consumer trust around shopping with mobile tech, coupled with investment from retailers to develop their customer’s user experience on smartphones and tablets, are key factors in this dramatic growth. Development of mobile paywalls, has also served to stimulate this trend. Research from

Research from VoucherCodes.co.uk and YouGov last year also found that Brits are now spending 8.6% of their disposable income using mobile payment devices.

By the end of 2017, mobile devices will be responsible for a huge 27.9% of online sales across Europe, on average. In the UK, the split will be even greater, with 40.1% of online retail sales being made using the devices

The value of mobile payments is also on the rise, with the average payment made using a mobile device increasing by 9.2% since 2015, compared to an increase of just 2.4% across Europe, as Brits begin to grow in confidence to make larger purchases on their mobile devices. The research found that the average value of mobile transactions in the UK was £51 in 2016, a figure that is predicted to rise to £55 over the next 12 months.

UK continues to outstrip European counterparts

Despite the maturity of the market, total online spending in the UK is set to hit £67.38 billion in 2017, continuing to grow to £73.58 billion by 2018; an enormous shift from the 2014 figure of ‘just’ £46.19 billion, making up 29% of Europe’s total online spend.

The research in this report has been conducted by VoucherCodes.co.uk, part of RetailMeNot, and the Centre for Retail Research.