There has been a massive increase in searches for UK retail brands by internet users in foreign countries, according to the latest figures.

Numbers produced by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Google revealed a 231 per cent rise in searches for UK brands on German smartphones during the fourth quarter of 2013.

There was a 78 per cent increase in searches by tablet users in France compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, interest from further afield also saw strong improvements.

Helen Dickinson, director general at the BRC, argues that investment in international commerce, such as multilingual SEO and translation services, as well as favourable delivery terms, are partly responsible for the rise.

She said: "These new BRC-Google figures show UK retailers are investing heavily in international online experiences, localised websites and faster delivery times to drive exports.”

Peter Fitzgerald, retail director at Google, said: "This Christmas mobile truly came into its own. Those retailers who invested in cross-device experiences - allowing their customers to easily find, buy and discover no matter where they are -reaped the rewards.”