Retailer set for 'mobile Christmas'

Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and an iPad with wi-fi.

The UK will experience its first “mobile Christmas” as internet traffic from mobile phones and tablets outstrip that from desktop computers for the first time on December 25, an online retailer has predicted.

Mark Lewis, online director for John Lewis, said the prediction is based on figures showing mobiles made up almost 50% of all traffic to the company’s website on Christmas Day last year.

Statistics from the retailer showed mobile traffic peaked on the company’s site at 9pm, while the busiest day was Boxing Day, with more than 920,000 visits.

“Mobile is set to be the shining star of Christmas 2013,” Mr Lewis said.

“Shopping is becoming much more of a social experience with people browsing, purchasing and sharing ideas with others using their mobile phones and tablets.

“We expect this to increase dramatically during the festive period as customers shop on the go and we anticipate that Christmas Day will be the tipping point for mobile.”

Mr Lewis said he expected the increase in mobile internet use would be reflected in online shoppers’ habits nationwide.

Mobile traffic currently accounted for 40% of all visits to the company’s site, he said.

Mr Lewis said fashion appeared to be the most popular purchase item for mobile shoppers, with 78% of the company’s total sales in the category now completed on a mobile phone or tablet.

“Although customers are more likely to shop for lower value items on mobile devices, there is a significant proportion of customers purchasing big-ticket items,” he said.

“In fact, the most expensive item we’ve sold on the mobile site was a £7,000 television.”

The retailer plans to launch an iPad app in response to the increased mobile usage.

Retailer set for 'mobile Christmas'