The use of desktop for UK online shopping has been marginally ahead of mobile in 2017, according to PCA Predict.

In a year in which mobile and desktop have been vying for most prolific use in online shopping, desktop is holding on to a minimal lead.

Ecommerce data expert PCA Predict analysed mobile and desktop usage from January 1 to November 16, 2017, to find that mobile – comprising smartphones and tablets – came out on top for a total of 129 days, while desktop use was dominant for 190 days.

PCA Predict head of marketing Chris Boaz said: “This year really has seen devices battling for consumers’ hearts.

“With the end of 2017 in sight, desktop is barely ahead of mobile in terms of preferred device for online shopping. Next year we might actually see mobile take over too.”

The data also revealed that UK shoppers are more likely to want to use their smartphones rather than desktop devices to shop on bank holidays.

“With the end of 2017 in sight, desktop is barely ahead of mobile in terms of preferred device for online shopping. Next year we might actually see mobile take over too”

For instance, on Easter Monday (April 17, 2017), mobile was used by 56%, compared with 44% on desktop, while on the early May Bank Holiday (May 1, 2017), mobile was used by 58%, compared with 42% on desktop.

In fact, the only bank holiday that did not follow this trend was in August (August 28, 2017).

Boaz said: “During bank holidays, mobile devices have been consistently favoured by consumers to do their shopping. Every bank holiday to date this year, apart from one, has seen mobile coming out on top.

“There’s a simple reason for this trend. People are normally at work, so they’ll shop on desktop. However, during bank holidays, when they are out of the office, they’re more likely to shop on-the-go, thanks to their day off.”

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PCA Predict’s address-verification service is used by over 11,000 leading ecommerce brands including Asos, Tesco and House of Fraser. These insights are based on billions of online transactions that PCA Predict’s platform gathers each day and analyses with its Ecommerce Trends tool.