Okay, so whether or not mobile is killing the shopping mall is a matter for debate. But that’s not to say it’s not having a go. In a period of exponential technological development, smartphone technology has revolutionised the way consumers search for and purchase goods and services.

For years the high street’s once renowned department stores have been losing ground to consolidated shopping malls which offered a retail experience defined by greater scale, convenience and choice. Now, after five years of healthy growth, m-commerce is perfectly positioned to capture significant market share from the bricks-and-mortar retail outlets. According to international research conducted by RetailMeNot along with the Centre for Retail Research, UK consumers are predicted to spend a record £14.95 billion through their mobile devices throughout 2015 representing a staggering increase of 77.8% compared to the £8.41 billion spent in 2014. While desktop spending should still retain the lion’s share of this year’s UK e-commerce spend at 71.4%, this still represents a marked decrease from its 81.3% market share of 2014.

Giulio Montemagno, Senior Vice President of International at RetailMeNot, underlined the importance of mobile:

“Mobile is now the driving force behind e-commerce growth, accounting for more than one in four pounds spent online in the UK this year. However, the true impact of mobile on retail is much greater than this. Our research suggests that mobile is becoming a ‘shopping companion’ for many Brits. Almost three-quarters of mobile users regularly visit retailer’s websites to browse or make purchases, with some retailers seeing as many as one in two visits to their sites come through mobile. Faced with some high rates of growth and a huge opportunity to drive sales, ignoring mobile is simply not an option for retailers in 2015.”

It’s important to remember too that this increase in purchases made through mobile has long been preceded by an increase in consumers using their mobile devices for searching and browsing. While the use of multiple devices in one purchase journey presents a challenge to accurate measuring, it demonstrates the increasing value of mobile to the e-commerce ecosystem and its disruptive effect on the operations of shopping malls and bricks-and-mortar stores.

The onus then is on brands to make the most of this change in behaviour. To understand exactly what their mobile customers are looking for, brands need to have the right tools to harness the power of their mobile device data.  By accurately tracking mobile search and transactional data, brands can derive invaluable insights about how their customers are interacting with their site and ultimately lead them to their purchasing decision as swiftly and conveniently as possible. Furthermore, it’s essential for brands to ensure that their website and online storefront are thoroughly optimised for mobile as part of their overall retail marketing strategy. One of the main reasons for consumers’ continued preference for desktop conversion is the poor checkout experience on sites which have not been mobile optimised.

However, as vital as it is to be optimised and ready to receive mobile consumers, it’s equally important that online retailers actively target mobile users rather than passively wait for them to arrive. This is another advantage that m-commerce has over the traditional store – as location-based targeting gives retailers the opportunity to target consumers with highly contextual ads which relate to their current surroundings, past preferences and a host of other useful data. This becomes even more so as sophisticated proprietary technology platforms enable great headway in cleaning up the quality of geospatial data

Traditional retailing in physical stores will always have its adherents who prefer the tangible interactions with staff and products. However, it is impossible to ignore the escalation of m-commerce in the UK which is predicted to secure almost £15 billion worth of transactions this year alone. With growth levels that suggest mobile will eclipse desktop by 2016, the period of quiet expansion is over; m-commerce has entered an undeniable boom period which represents an unprecedented opportunity for brands looking to engage with their customers through smartphone and tablet devices.