Despite Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile operating systems battling neck and neck for share of the smartphone market in Australia, 85% of all mobile visits to local business websites are coming from only one of the those parties, a recent study from digital media firm Goop has found.

Apple has recently lost grip on its stronghold over the smartphone and tablet market in terms of market share, with Android devices matching or surpassing Apple in popularity among Australians, but that hasn’t stopped it dominating the important local shopping market.

Goop analysed three months of live traffic data from the web sites of more than 300 clients across Greater Geelong and regional Victoria.

“We were stunned to find that 85% of all mobile visits to our clients’ sites came from Apple devices,” says Goop’s Karl Morris. “And almost half of those visits came from iPads.”

“Safari [Apple’s web browser] even out-locals Internet Explorer,” he says.

“The study found almost 35% of all visits to our clients’ sites were made on the Safari browser. Internet Explorer came second totalling 33%, with Chrome and Firefox coming in at third and fourth. Android, despite its incredible user growth, is lagging in fifth place.

“This is a big win for Apple,” Morris says.

“Local businesses looking to connect with shoppers are driving a large chunk of the digital advertising and site development market. This powerful position among local shoppers gives Apple an intriguing platform to build on,” Morris says. “Local businesses need to factor mobile shoppers into their mix.”