Tablets Sit Atop Consumer Wish Lists

November 23, 2011

nielsen-youth-electronic-gadget-wishlist-nov11.gifThe Apple iPad is the most desired consumer electronic among kids aged 6-12, according to a November survey from Nielsen. Data from the survey indicates that 44% of this young demographic expresses an interest in obtaining an iPad in the next 6 months, up 42% from a leading 31% of respondents in 2010. The iPod touch (30%) and iPhone (27%) round out kids’ top 3, with computers and other tablet brands appealing to one-quarter of those surveyed. Gaming devices also make up kids’ wish lists, with Nintendo 3DS (25%) leading the way, followed closely by Kinect for Xbox 360, which grew 64% from 14% of respondents in 2010 to 23% this year.
Older Nintendo DS models (22%) continue to prove popular with these young gamers, while the PlayStation 3 (17%) and Xbox 360 (16%) beat out the Nintendo Wii (11%) as the most desired gaming consoles.

iPads Appeal to Older Set, Too

US consumers aged 13 and older also find iPads appealing: 24% are interested in purchasing one in the next 6 months, up one-third of respondents from 18% in 2010, and making them the most-desired item ahead of 2010’s most popular, computers (18%). E-readers (18%) also exhibit heightened appeal among teens and adults compared to last year (15%), while gaming devices on the whole are somewhat less likely to be of interest to this segment. A notable 17% of teens/adults also express an interest in non-Apple tablets.

iPad, Kindle Fire Battle for Most Desired

retrevo-holiday-gifts.jpgMeanwhile, according to a November study from Retrevo, 1 in 10 US consumers cite the iPad as the one gadget they hope to receive as a gift this holiday season, matched only by the proportion who cite the Amazon Kindle Fire as their single most-desired consumer electronic. Earlier this month, Retrevo found that slightly more respondents were planning to buy a Kindle Fire this holiday season than an iPad (12% vs. 10%). By contrast, a November survey [download page] from ChangeWave Research found much higher desire for iPads: of the 14% of respondents who said they plan to buy a tablet in the next 90 days, 65% reported they would purchase an iPad, compared to just 22% who said they would buy a Kindle Fire. A November Parks Associates study found similar results: according to the survey, among holiday shoppers most likely to purchase a tablet by the end of the year, the scales tip heavily in favor of the iPad, at 62%, with only 38% choosing the Kindle Fire.

Breaking down its November data demographically, Retrevo finds that women are slightly more likely to prefer an iPad to a Kindle Fire, while the Kindle Fire edges out the iPad among men. Meanwhile, iPads were on top for both lower and upper income brackets, while the Kindle Fire was more popular among the very high income group.

Unlike results from the Nielsen survey that found younger consumers preferring iPads, data from the Retrevo study indicates that consumers under 25 would prefer to receive a laptop than a tablet, especially a MacBook air.

Tablet Deals Sought

Not surprisingly, according to Retrevo, the leading items that shoppers will be looking for deals on this Black Friday are tablets, including iPads (32%). One-quarter of those surveyed will be hunting for deals on HDTVs, including 3DTVs, closely followed by laptops (24%), while roughly 1 in 5 will be looking to pick up a smartphone (including iPhone) at a bargain.

About the Data: The Nielsen survey was conducted among a general population sample of 3,000 consumers in the United States in October 2011. The data from the Retrevo report came from a study of online individuals conducted exclusively for Retrevo in October of 2011, by an independent panel. The sample size was over 1,000 distributed across gender, age, income and location in the United States. The ChangeWave Research data was based on a survey of 3,043 consumers conducted November 1-13. The Parks Associates data is based on a survey of 2,000 US broadband heads-of-household in November 2011.

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