Total search volumes for home and garden grew by 15% in the third quarter of 2014 compared with the same quarter a year earlier, according to BRC-Google Online Retail monitor.

On smartphones, search volumes outpaced the volumes on tablets, with growth of 41% compared with tablets of 22%.

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The agency opined that 15% growth in search volumes for home and garden category is mainly due to an increasingly healthy housing market as sales in these categories tend to be directly impacted by house sales.

With the report, it is evident that technology is playing an increasingly significant part in all aspects of consumers’ lives.

BRC director general Helen Dickinson, said: "Possibly one of the biggest decisions a consumer will make, taking out a mortgage, is now heavily influenced by online research with our data showing that online.

"It’s also interesting to note which devices customers are using to view which categories of product. Smaller items feature more significantly in the smartphone category while ‘beds’ top the list of searches across all devices.

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"However, the further down rankings you go, the greater the mix of products. This suggests that consumers are becoming more and more comfortable searching for a wider variety of products on-the-go than has previously been the case."

Google Retail director Peter Fitzgerald said: "Home and Garden continues to be one of the fastest growing online retail sectors with 15% YoY growth in the third quarter.

"A warm July led to slower YoY growth but that changed in August when ex-hurricane Bertha came to the UK leading to a marked increase in home searches. The August bank holiday also brought an increase in home searches as the UK looked to home improvement over the last long weekend before Christmas."