Nearly half of UK public shopping online via smartphones, study finds

In its latest annual communications market report (435-page / 4.55MB PDF), the regulator said that 45% of the public use a smartphone to make purchases online. Ofcom said its research also revealed that more than two in five people in the country also use smartphones to do online banking (44%).

Ofcom's study found that two thirds of UK adults now own a smartphone, up from 61% in 2014 and that smartphones are now viewed "as the device internet users say is the most important for connecting to the internet". A third of UK adults took this view, compared to 30% who said laptops are the most important for online access. In 2014, the research showed that 40% of UK adults believed the laptop was the primary device for internet connections, compared to 23% of people who cited the smartphone.

Ofcom said that the shift in opinion has at least in part been down to the increase in availability of '4G' services to mobile device users. According to its study, there are 23.6 million 4G subscriptions in the UK, which makes up 28% of all mobile subscriptions. In comparison, research conducted in the final quarter of 2013 found that just 3% of mobile subscriptions were 4G at the time.

"4G' is the fourth generation of mobile phone technology, following 2G and 3G, and is capable of providing faster connection speeds on mobile devices," Ofcom said. "Developments in technology, and improvements in availability and affordability have made it easier for people to go online whenever they wish. These enhancements also have the potential to make the online experience more enjoyable for consumers, as internet connection speeds improve, particularly while on the move as the 4G network becomes more widespread."