Tablets to Drive 2026 Ecommerce

With some 30m iPads sold so far alone worldwide, the penetration of tablet devices into the consumer market has been nothing short of staggering. Given their relatively high cost, consumers who use them tend to have a higher disposable income than average, making them attractive targets for internet marketing.

Now, some new research indicates that tablets may be the key driver of ecommerce across portable devices this next year, with shopping across tablets such as iPads likely to equal that of purchases across smartphones such as the iPhone.

The study, conducted by consultants Logan Tod, surveyed over 1,000 respondents at the end of December 2012 and discovered that already, 14 per cent of them had used an iPad or other tablet device to make an online purchase this Christmas. Overall, 15 per cent had used a mobile to purchase, a figure that is more than double the seven per cent that had done so a year ago.

Logan Tod are forecasting ecommerce sales growth of between 18 per cent and 22 per cent between this past Christmas and Christmas 2012, with over a quarter of respondents saying they will spend more online next Christmas than they did this year. What can retailers do to encourage purchase? Well, 57 per cent of respondents would buy more if there were more low cost delivery options, 45 per cent wanted better stock availability and 46 per cent wanted improved payment options, and unsurprisingly, 48 per cent asked for more money saving offers.