The proportions of tablet and laptop owners using their devices at home at different stages in the purchase path are almost on par, according to a report released in May 2012 by InMobi and Mobext. Basing their findings on research conducted from January to April 2012 across 8,400 panelists in 5 markets (India, South Korea, the UK, the US, and France), the companies found that 69% of laptop users make purchases in the home, compared to 63% of tablet users. Laptop users and tablet users also show similar levels of device usage at home for product awareness (64% and 61%, respectively) and active evaluation (62% and 58%, respectively).
According to recent research [pdf] from Adobe Digital Index, tablets still have a ways to go to match PCs in terms of website traffic. Analyzing 23 billion visits to the websites of more than 325 brands across North America, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific, the report finds that although consumers consider website experiences to be nearly as engaging with tablets as with PCs, they use PCs to visit websites 3 times as frequently as tablets. That is, although there were approximately 6 times as many PCs as tablets in North America and Western Europe, they generated 19 times as many website visits during Q1 2012. Some mitigating factors include the availability of mobile applications for tablets, which reduce traffic to websites, and the relative dearth of tablet-optimized websites.
42% of Smartphone Users Purchase On the Go
Data from the InMobi and Mobext report also indicates that more than 2 in 5 smartphone owners make purchases outside the home. A high proportion of smartphone owners use their device outside the home for other activities along the purchase path, including awareness (42%), active evaluation (37%), and consideration (41%). Post-purchase, 35% of smartphone owners share opinions on a brand or product through their device.
UK Tablet Owners Stick to Their Devices
Looking at the behaviors of tablet owners in the UK, the study reveals that 46% prefer using their tablets for shopping, while 41% prefer to use a laptop or desktop, and only 9% prefer using a smartphone. Among all survey respondents in the UK, a higher proportion of tablets users (58%) than smartphone (56%) and laptop/desktop users (41%) access media content on their device several times per day.
Other Findings:
- Within the UK, 69% of tablet users report having shopped on their device in the last 30 days, with close to 1 in 10 happy to use their device for a big ticket purchase.
- 63% of UK tablet users purchase at home, while 33% purchase out of home, and 29% do so at work or at college.
- 7 in 10 regularly use their tablet and watch TV at the same time, while one-fifth say they watch more TV since their tablet purchase.
- 63% of tablet users agree that it easier to access media content on a tablet than on a mobile or laptop.
- Over 20% of tablet users claim to shop less in-store since purchasing their device.
About the Data: The InMobi/Mobext findings regarding the UK is from a sample of 664 respondents, including more than 230 tablet users, more than 300 smartphone users, and more than 120 personal computer users.
