One in ten mobile users with retail-themed apps use them to visit high street outlets, according to research from mobile developer Grapple.

The agency, which developed apps for retail brands including McDonald’s and Comet, made the claim by analysing data from its client’s usage logs, which were accessed a total of 1.3m times in the second half of this year by UK mobile users.

The study found that 10% of those to have downloaded the app used it to find their nearest store using GPS functions on their phone while 50% of these had used the app while in-store.

The in-store mobile app usage is mostly generated by “checking in”, scanning bar codes or redeeming vouchers, according to Grapple’s study.

The findings come the same week as the Government’s retail guru Mary Portas produced a report claiming that ecommerce – including shopping on mobiles – and out-of-town retail outlets were responsible for the decline of the high street.

However, Grapple’s study claimed that using strategies, such as distributing vouchers via mobiles, can increase in-store footfall and revenues.

Grapple’s chief strategy officer Adam Levene, said, “Earlier this week, Mary Portas stated that the only hope our high streets have of surviving is to provide something new. Mobile is proving to be the perfect platform to encourage customers back to the high street by providing an ‘on-the-go’ interactive tool to use in-store, enhancing the shopping experience.”

Also this week, Google forecast that 44% of total searches for last-minute gifts and specific store locations will be from mobile devices this holiday season, compared with about 20% in last year. The search giant also went on to quote research from IPSOS claiming that 24% of UK consumers use their mobiles for in-store price comparison.