Nearly half of all UK retail sales will involve a mobile device within a decade

However, the influence of mobile on spending is expected to more than double this figure from £760m to £1.95bn over the same period, making mobile the fastest growing retail segment.

If you were to equate UK mobile sales in terms of store numbers, in five years’ time it would require a chain of around 30,000 stores, nearly three times the size of Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, which has 11,000 outlets worldwide. Within the next decade, the number of stores required will rise to nearer 48,000.

This is against a backdrop of predictions for single digit growth across the wider retail sector.

In 2014 the value of UK retail sales reached £325bn. During the next five years’ time the sector is forecast to enjoy 8.1 per cent growth taking sales to £351bn with the figure rising to £391bn by 2024.

John Union, head of corporate banking, Barclays Wales Region, said: “The size of the retail opportunity is clear for all to see. The question every retailer should be asking themselves is what they are doing about it to not only satisfy today’s consumer but, also tomorrow’s”.

The number of tablet users has doubled in each of the past two years, with almost half of adults now owning one, while smartphone penetration has rocketed since 2007 following the launch on the first iPhone.

In 2009, 14 per cent of consumers owned a smartphone. By 2014 the number had more than quadrupled to 61 per cent and by 2019 around three quarters of adults are predicted to own one.

As a result of the growth in gadgets, 46 per cent of retailers claim that at least some of their sales are already generated through a mobile device. However, less than three per cent believe their business is at the cutting-edge when it comes to being mobile ready and a further 70 per cent said they did not currently offer a mobile website or a mobile app for consumers.