RetailTechNews’ weekly roundup brings you up-to-date research findings from around the world. In this week’s edition: Mobile shopping to overtake in-store shopping; China spends the most online; and Booking apps driving last-minute booking traffic.

Mobile Shopping to Overtake In-Store Shopping

Mobile shopping is set to overtake in-store shopping within the next five years, according to research by OnBuy.com. The research also finds that that although in-store shopping is still the most popular among weekly and daily shoppers, the frequency of mobile shopping has overtaken tablet shopping, and is almost ready to overtake PC shopping.

Over half (54%) of consumers see themselves using mobiles more in the future to make the in-store experiences better and more meaningful. A further 73% of consumers believe that retailers will have to keep up with new technology to improve their customer experience and retain customers.

For millennials, it is even more important to evolve and increase tech use, as a staggering six out of 10 (61%) 25-34 year-olds find it easier to chat to stores via text, online chat, or messenger apps, than go into a store. Furthermore, half of millennials (52%), when in a shop, would even prefer to seek information online, rather than ask an in-store shop assistant.

Just under half of consumers (47%) agree that they are more likely to buy from brands with stores that are 'different' or 'interesting' – and this increases to two-thirds (65%) for millennials.

China Spends the Most Online

China is the world’s biggest online spender (in proportion to consumer income), shows a new study by Website Builder Expert.

In fact, Chinese inhabitants spent almost a fifth of their income (19.3%) on e-commerce sites. The study found that the average Chinese consumer spends USD$1,855 (£1,316) every year online, a figure that will no doubt continue to grow year-on-year.

Despite its mammoth population, the US ranked in seventh place overall, spending a much smaller proportion of their salary shopping online (7.6%), almost three times less than money spent in China, suggesting that many American consumers still prefer buying products in-store as opposed to online.

In contrast to the US, Mexico ranked second place, where residents spend over 17% of their income online, splurging over USD$800 (£568) every year. At present, only half of Mexico’s population uses the internet, but its economy is growing at an impressive rate, meaning that online retail sales are likely to skyrocket in the immediate future.

It is Britons, however, who spend the largest total amount when shopping online. The research found that online spending sprees in the UK exceed USD$4,000 (£2,838) per person per annum and show no signs of slowing down.

Booking Apps Driving Last-Minute Booking Traffic

Travel companies with mobile apps saw 60% of their bookings take place on mobile devices in Q4 2017, says research by Criteo. This is up from 41% during the same period in 2016, while online travel agents now see almost half (45%) of all bookings take place on a smartphone or tablet.

With mobile platforms making it easier than ever before to book a weekend away on a whim, searches on smartphones and bespoke travel booking apps have spiked, and accounts for up to 89% of traffic, for last-minute bookings.

Meanwhile, conversion rates on apps are five times those on mobile web and twice those on desktop. While suppliers have a lower share of mobile bookings, a third (32%) of their bookings are preceded by a click on a different device, demonstrating the importance of data collaboration to improve mobile performance.

The findings also show that a third (33%) of overnight stays are searched for on apps, as holidaymakers move away from desktop for quick breaks, and 80% of last-minute bookings are made on mobile devices. This content was originally published in RetailTechNews.