According to new research by a number of firms, including Monetate, Ipsos, and Forrester Research, tablet owners are more likely to make online purchases. The Wall Street Journal reported that while only 9% of online shoppers have a tablet, tablet owners are more likely than their PC-owning counterparts to make a purchase while browsing retail sites, and they are more likely to buy more as well. Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru explains that the conversion rate (likelihood of a shopper to make a purchase) for PC shoppers is 3%, while the conversion rate for tablet users is higher, at around 4 or 5%. Additionally, retailers have found that shoppers who make purchases on their tablets tend to place larger orders, up to 20% larger than shoppers using PCs and smartphones.
So, why are tablet owners so much more likely to buy and to buy lots? Forrester’s research suggests that consumers spend more time browsing the Internet after buying a tablet, and almost half of them shop using their tablet. One of the biggest factors is also that tablet owners tend to be more wealthy than shoppers using a PC or smartphone. Finally, the usability of tablets encourages people to use the device, especially tablets’ large touchscreens and portability.
An Ipsos survey found that owners of tablets and ‘dual owners’ buy almost twice as often as those who only own smartphones. This survey of US smartphone and tablet owners was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of PayPal. It revealed that tablet ownership increases the frequency of mobile shopping and improves the purchase experience. In addition, the study revealed that tablet ownership increases mobile purchase frequency, where tablet owners (and dual owners) make purchases nearly twice as often as those who only own smartphones. Finally, the results indicated that over 40% of dual owners made more than 20 mobile purchases over the past year, while two-thirds of dual owners indicated higher overall spending due to their mobile purchasing activity. PayPal’s senior director of Mobile, Laura Chambers, said
We are starting to see more retailers take advantage of this trend by tailoring their mobile websites and apps for tablets. With more shoppers planning to use tablets to shop this holiday season, and quite often using them from the comfort of their own home, we expect that retailers will see quite a bit of ‘couch commerce’ this year. We are predicting that the first big spike in mobile shopping will be right after Thanksgiving dinner, where consumers will be shopping from their tablets and smartphones right from their couch – a fantastic early opportunity for retailers to engage their customers.
The Ipsos survey revealed some different results than those of Forrester Research and Monetate, including that where dual owners have a preference between devices for mobile commerce activities, most prefer smartphones because they are easier to use for swiping the device for coupons or QR codes, allow the user to listen to audio in privacy, and are sometimes preferred for making a final purchase. Smartphones tend to be the perferred device for app-based purchases, while tablets appear to be preferable for website-based purchases. Ipsos’s results suggest that while the habits of dual owners are still in flux, the important point is that owners of both tablets and smartphones are willingly proclaiming that they are interested in spending money using their devices.
Here are some of the statistics from Monetate and Forrester’s research:
- 60% of tablet users are males.
- 48% are 18-34 years old.
- 43% of tablet owners have household incomes of $50,000 or more.
- Tablet users in the US are estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 51% from 2010 to 2015.
- 56% of tablet users looked up product/price info for a specific store at least once a month.
- 39% of tablet users have made more than 3 purchases on their device.
Here is our advice for online retailers:
- Release a product app or make a mobile site for smartphone users.
- Have an iPad-friendly version of your site with larger fonts, no Flash, etc.
- Use browser detection so you can offer your iPad traffic special offers.
- Make your checkout process more finger-friendly by replacing roll-over menus with gesture-based ones.
- Test different versions of your website on all the different devices and operating systems.
- Offer an alternative payment option such as PayPal or Google Checkout.
- Ensure your site is as secure and compliant as possible for mobile payments.
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