BRITISH consumers are set to spend £19.3bn via their mobile phones and tablets within the next 10 years compared with £1.3bn today.

Research by Barclays Corporate showed that the convenience of amending shopping lists, making payments and arranging delivery times via mobile devices meant food and groceries remain the most popular “on the go” mobile purchase – ringing up sales of almost £300m for supermarkets and grocery stores this year. By 2021 this figure is expected to top £5bn.

Electricals are the second most popular mobile purchase with £290m of goods due to be purchased via a smart phone or tablet this year. By 2021 sales are predicted to reach £2.1bn.

Personal care products are expected to show the strongest growth with so called m-commerce sales rising from £63m in 2011 to £3.1bn in 10 years’ time. Richard Lowe, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays Corporate, said: “M-commerce is still a relatively niche channel accounting for 0.5% of total retail spend.

“However, with little new shop space coming into play the real growth opportunities lie on the virtual high street and those retailers which are prepared to invest will be at a significant advantage to the competition.”