Advanced Television

Spending via tablets up 22%

January 29, 2013

At the close of 2012, market intelligence firm ABI Research estimates nearly 200 million tablets will have shipped worldwide since 2009 and an additional 1 billion tablets are forecasted to ship over the next 5 years. New research that explores the impact a tablet has on the daily life of a US consumer shows that 22 per cent of users spend $50 or more per month and 9 per cent spend $100 or more; much higher than spending levels observed by smartphone owners.

“Tablets are quickly becoming the go-to transaction screen within the home,” says mobile devices senior practice director Jeff Orr.

Spending on-device of physical and virtual goods has not yet impacted retail storefronts which are already concerned about their venues turning into showrooms for eventual e-commerce purchases. Logistics, such as price checking, using a coupon and location-based searches, consistently rank as the most common activities (each performed by more than 50 per cent of tablet shoppers in the previous 90 days) while shopping. “The opportunity to keep consumers buying in-store squarely remains with the retailer. So far, the presence of a media tablet during the shopping experience has not altered the sales channel where consumers finally buy products,” notes Orr.

The actual amount of cannibalization that a tablet has on traditional print and TV consumption varies. Most surprising is that tablets are increasingly used in conjunction with other media types (14 per cent for TV; 17 per cent for newspapers and magazines), which makes the experience more immersive than static-only content engagement.

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Mobile, Portable Media, Research