The use of smartphones and tablets will cause retail spending to increase by 231pc in the east of England over the next five years, a rate second only to London, according to a survey.

With the number of adults who own a mobile now at 61pc in the UK - quadruple the number five years ago - and predicted to rise to three-quarters by 2019, mobile devices are significantly increasing spending, said research agency Conlumino in a report for Barclays bank.

The predicted increase in spending by consumers in the east of England is from £876m to £2.9bn - a rate second only to London - said the report.

Jane Galvin, managing director of corporate banking at Barclays eastern region, said retailers would see spend influenced by mobile decides such as smartphones and tablets increase rapdily by 2019.

'The size of the retail opportunity in eastern region is clear for all to see from the predicted growth figures, where we are comparing strongly against London,' said Ms Galvin. '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.'

Eastern retailers will see spend influenced by mobile devices increase from £1.9 billion to £4.9 billion by 2019, with almost half of the 221 UK retailers surveyed saying some of their sales were generated from mobile devices, said the report.

This would see a 164pc increase in spend from mobile devices for retailers in the East of England - again, just second behind London, said the report.

However, less than 3pc of the UK retailers surveyed believed their business is completely mobile ready, and a further 70pc said they did not currently offer a mobile website or a mobile app for consumers, concluded the report.

How is your business tapping into mobile devices? Contact Jess Staufenberg on 01603772531 or email jessica.staufenberg@archant.co.uk.