USE of smartphones and tablets in Worcestershire is set to rocket in the next four years, according to research by Barclays.

The bank is forecasting that consumers in the West Midlands are set to spend more than £1.9b a year using their electronic devices by 2019, compared with the £583m spent today. However, the influence of mobiles on spending in the region is expected to more than double this figure, from £1.3b to £3.5b over the same period, making mobile the fastest growing retail segment.

Across the UK, the figures are more eye watering, with consumers set to spend £32b a year using their smartphones and tablets by 2019, compared with the £9.7b spent today. If you take into account influenced spend, this figure rises to £80.4b, meaning nearly half (42.4 per cent) of all retail sales in the UK will involve a mobile device in some way or another.

Wayne Taylor, head of business and corporate banking for Barclays in Worcestershire, 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.