The data comes from Kenshoo and is based on a representative sample of UK retailers that use the company’s search marketing platform.

The exact findings show that UK retail search advertisers saw their ad revenue double year-on-year, with tablets accounting for:

  • 35% of spend vs. 50% on desktop.
  • 37% of conversions vs. 55% on desktop.
  • 38% of revenue vs. 56% on desktop.

The analysis shows that while search advertising on desktop computers still accounts for the biggest share of ad spend, conversions and revenue, marketers are capitalising on the shift towards smartphones and tablets by adjusting their investment towards those devices, with half of their spend on Boxing Day allocated to mobile.

Other findings include a 1,300% increase in spend on Product Listing Ads (PLAs) which now comprise the default ad format for Google Shopping. Retailers saw a 1,190% increase in clicks and 967% increase in impressions from PLAs, proving the format to be powerful and effective.

John Lewis and Schuh report shift to mobile

A number of major retailers have reported a surge in mobile traffic over the festive period.

John Lewis’ online sales for the five weeks to 28 December 2013 were 22.6% up on last year with johnlewis.com accounting for 31.8% of the total John Lewis business during this period.

On Christmas Day mobile phones and tablets made up three quarters of John Lewis’ total traffic, overtaking that from desktops by a considerable margin.

Similarly, footwear retailer Schuh found that 39% of Christmas Day traffic came from smartphones compared to 28% from tablet and 33% from desktop.