Retailer May Be the Next Big Winners with Tablets

Courtesy of eConsultancy

Tablet owners love their news apps, but as it turns out they also love to do something else on their tablets: shop.

63% of tablet owners have made an online purchase with their device, according to the study Understanding Mobile Audience from Jumptamp, a mobile ad network. In comparison, only 31% of mobile phone owners have used their device to make a purchase and 83% of PC owners who have spent some dough online.

Within younger consumers, the gap between PC and tablet shoppers shrink; 79% of 18 to 34 year old tablet owners have purchased online, and 89% of PC owners have done the same.

And while it comes as no surprise that younger people are more likely to have shopped online in general, it's interesting that those making purchases on tablets tend to skew male, with 67% of men, compared to 55% of women, making purchases.

The study found that tablet shoppers are most likely to be purchasing event tickets, daily deals from sites like Groupon, and apparel.

Still there are still some really concerns over the security of purchasing on a mobile device – it is the main reason that shoppers say they prefer to shop on a PC or in-store. But unlike with mobile, those concerns drop significantly when consumers consider making purchases with a tablet.

“As we continue to invest to understand how consumers use mobile, our Wave Two research is a clear indication of the quick tablet adoption rates and the device’s ease of use,” said Paran Johar, CMO of Jumptap, in a statement. “The drastic growth in tablets as a choice device for eCommerce is due to its larger form factor, which is more conducive to the keystroke-intensive behaviors of Internet purchasing and banking.”

With a larger screen and keys, it does make sense that consumers would be more apt to shop on a tablet than they would on their mobile phone. 

But the fact that young people are almost as likely to have made a purchase on their tablet as they are to have made a purchase on their PC is indicative of the effect that tablets will have on our media consumption as they become more prevalent.

In October a study from research firm OTX MediaCT indicated that owning a tablet increases the frequency with which a consumer shops online and improves the purchase experience.

And while only 5% of the U.S. population currently own tablets, this could mean good things for the retailers in the future as tablet sales continue to increase and new, less expensive, tablet products enter the marketplace.