Industry researchers predict more than half of marketing cash will be spent digitally as tablets, smartphones and digital media dominate Britain’s shopping habits

The UK is on course to become the first country in the world where spending on digital advertising outstrips all other traditional formats combined.

As consumers increasingly shop on smartphones and tablets, more than half of the nation’s advertising budget is expected to go on digital media this year, with a boom in paid-for results on search engines such as Google, according to sales and marketing researchers Strategy Analytics.