Shoppers are forecast to spend £19.8bn using their smartphones and tablets over the festive season. This figure is up 47% on 2019, which is the first comparative year according to new data.

The VoucherCodes.co.uk Shopping for Christmas 2021 report, shows mCommerce transactions (purchases made via mobile devices) are on track to rise £6.3bn from 2019. This suggests Covid has had a huge positive impact on mobile spending across the UK.

Purchases made on all mobile devices are expected to account for 61.3% of UK online sales this Christmas. Spend is forecast to reach £32.3bn, which compares to 62.6% in 2020 and 60.6% in 2019. Continuing the trend we’ve seen over the past few years, mCommerce will also out-do sales forecast for PCs; this year PCs are predicted to make up 38.7% of total online sales, or £12.5bn.

This is partly due to the number of smartphone users continuing to rise. Smartphone ownership in the UK has risen by 1.7% since 2020. Although tablet ownership continues to decrease year-on-year (-0.5%), Brits are predicted to spend £7.6bn on these devices this year, making up 23.6% of all online sales.

Smartphone transactions are forecast to take the largest share of mCommerce spend this year.

Of all online purchases, 37.7% are being made on mobile phones (£12.2bn). The fact many retailers have now invested in their mobile shopping experience, creating sites that are optimised for a mobile device, is likely to be supporting this. Plus, retailers offering easy payment methods for online shopping such as PayPal and mobile wallets.

When compared to last year, mCommerce purchases dip 10.4% from the £22.1bn spent in 2020. The closure of non-essential retailers meant shoppers had to do most of their Christmas spending online. This in turn translated to a massive rise in spending on mobile devices.

Commenting is Maureen McDonagh, managing director at VoucherCodes.co.uk. “Online shopping habits have changed for the long term, with many retailers having invested heavily in giving consumers a great mobile shopping experience, this trend is likely to continue.

“This 46.5% increase in spending from 2019 to 2021 suggests people are becoming accustomed to spending on mobile devices. Consumers have adapted to shopping online from the comfort of their homes during the pandemic. And, with the new Omicron Covid variant, it’s likely hesitation around fully returning to shops will continue throughout the winter months and retailers are ready more than ever for this turbulence.”

The full Shopping for Christmas 2021 report can be found here.