The growth of “mobile commerce” in the UK was confirmed with a new study showing that sales of goods through smartphones now account for more than a 10th of all purchases on eBay.

The online trading firm said more people in this country were buying and selling goods via mobile than elsewhere in Europe.

More than two million items were bought on eBay through a mobile last month, including a house and a £70,000 Ferrari car.

Angus McCarey, retail director for eBay UK, said: “With consumers having instant access on the move, mobile shopping has come of age.

“While it took years for internet shopping to become mainstream, we believe mobile commerce will do it in less than half the time. We have never before seen such significant year over year growth.”