Mobile retail searches grow 113 percent in second quarter

Retail searches grew a total of 9 percent year over year in the second quarter, according to a study from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Google Retail Monitor. While that overall growth may be less than impressive, growth in the mobile arena is nothing to balk at, increasing 113 percent compared to the previous year.

Searches on tablet computers were especially notable during the second quarter. According to the BRC, tablets accounted for 40 percent of all mobile retail searches. This is a significant leap considering the tablet didn't even exist a few years ago. Now, it seems tablets are becoming favorite devices for people to research products and services and even complete transactions.

"For the first time, we can see searches from tablets are responsible for 40 percent of all retail searches from mobile devices, a very substantial share," says BRC director general Stephen Robertson in a statement. "This reflects the growth in shoppers using tablets at home instead of a laptop or PC."

BRC notes that food and drink saw the highest mobile search growth during the second quarter. Footwear, however, saw the fastest growth in overall search volumes -- including on tablets, smartphones and PCs.

Several industry experts have pointed to the fact that tablet users also tend to be big online shoppers. An earlier study from Forrester Research, for example, finds nearly 50 percent of retailers say sales made through tablets are of greater value than those made through traditional online portals. This could be an important consideration as the use of tablets continues to grow in the coming years.