• by Maryanne Conlin , December 19, 2012

Unless you’ve disconnected yourself from society recently, you’ve heard that the hot gift this year is a tablet computer. The choices are many. And, it seems most everyone is going to buy one … or two or more. Projections for tablet purchase have been revised and revised again. By January, over 25% of U.S. households will have a tablet … at least. And that number is only going up. Fast.

So, now that we have established that it’s very likely that mom is going to find a tablet computer in her stocking this year, let’s get on the ball and figure out how, how much, and where she is going to use it. Studies of tablet usage are necessarily hindered by the fact that tablet penetration is moving so quickly, but let’s give it a shot anyway, based on what data does exist. 

First, we all know by now that classifying tablets as “mobile” devices was a mistake all along. Tablets aren’t going anywhere except from room to room with the number one place to use it -- the couch! And, we know for sure Mom is going to be multi-tasking with her tablet. With 41% of tablet time spent in front of the TV, that’s a lot of consumers tuning out commercials in favor of surfing with their device. Tablet penetration may have a much greater impact on your broadcast advertising campaign than your digital one. 

It seems likely that mom is going to play games on her tablet. Women make up just about half of the PC and console gamers. Gaming is already one of the most popular activities on smartphones -- often when waiting for soccer practice to be over but, overall, gaming is more popular on tablets than smartphones.

Mom is going to read on her tablet. After all, this is what people do most on their tablets, after checking email. The proliferation on 7-inch tablets this season is going to assure that more and more moms will reluctantly trade in electronic ease of access for the smell of a freshly bound book.

And Mom will be cooking with her tablet, using the web’s endless collection of recipes to explore new ideas for meals, to try her hand at an exotic menu or just to figure out what to do -- quickly -- with the contents of her refrigerator. 

What tasks Mom ultimately uses her tablet(s) for and where and how is going to impact marketing budgets in ways we haven’t even considered yet. But it will change where and how we push information out to her about products … and a lot sooner than we think.