As smartphones and tablets are increasingly used by consumers around the world, retailers are being impacted by the technology as well. The mobile payments trend is proving to be valuable for European merchants, as customers are turning to their devices to shop and complete purchases.

According to recent research by Affiliate Window, consumers in the U.K. are using their smartphones and tablets to make purchases from retail affiliates, reports Internet Retailer. This represents a total of 9.4 percent of web sales. Shoppers are using many devices to browse and purchase items, but the iPad is the technology most used for these tasks, states the research. Apple's iPad was used by 59.2 percent of customers, while its iPhone took 24 percent. Android and Blackberry devices followed behind, at 12.3 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

European consumers are expected to increasingly use mobile devices to purchase retail items over the next few years, reports The Information Daily. A study by Forrester found that the total of mobile retail sales is anticipated to reach $19.2 billion in 2017. This includes many categories, including products, services and gift cards, says the news source.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, August 16th, 2012 at 1:46 am .