'It's just a case of when mobile is going to be more than half our traffic' - Net-A-Porter IT director

Richard Lloyd-Williams tells Computing that the luxury fashion retailer sees a big future in mobile sales

It's only a matter of time before sales made via tablets and smartphones surpass those made through using the more traditional desktop web browser.

That's what Richard Lloyd-Williams, group IT director at luxury fashion online retailer the Net-a-Porter Group told Computing during a recent interview.

The Net-a-Porter Group's IT department includes 23 mobile-specific developers working across 12 mobile applications, which offer consumers the opportunity to read about the latest fashion trends - and of course make purchases.

According to Lloyd-Williams, that focus on mobile has already paid off and the benefits are only going to increase as more and more customers purchase luxury clothing from devices such as an iPhone or iPad.

He hinted that customers who use an app are more engaged than those who just choose to visit net-a-porter.com through a mobile browser, an important factor when it comes to growth.

"All three of our websites are optimised for mobile and they've all got apps. Having an app gives you a different share of the space on their phone, and you can you do more things with an app, but there's room for both," Lloyd-Williams told Computing.

"We think it's just a case of when [mobile transactions are] going to be more than half of our traffic.

"It's going to be about mobile taking over from desktop and that we can see happening," he added.

Computing's full interview with Lloyd-Williams will be published shortly.