• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 24, 2011

According to a new report by Forrester Research, in partnership with Bizrate Insights, the number of Americans owning tablet devices is forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 51% between 2010 and 2015, while tablet commerce is expected to grow rapidly over the same period. 9% of surveyed online shoppers say they own a tablet device; among them, 78% own a smartphone as well, while 22% of tablet owners (2% of online shoppers) own a tablet only.

Shopping online is a popular activity among tablet owners: 47% of tablet owners say they've purchased something via their tablet and an additional 13% have shopped via tablet without buying.

Among online shoppers who own tablets, most prefer tablets to smartphones when buying online and most find their tablet as easy to use as their computer when doing so:

• 72% of Gen X, 67% of Boomers, and 65% of Gen Y say they use their tablet more than their smartphone to shop online
• 62% of Gen X, 60% of Gen Y, and 57% of Boomers say it's just as easy to visit and buy from retail sites via tablet as it is via PC

Some Key highlights of the report include such things as:

• Market size & demographics
• Market penetration for Tablets has increased from 9% pre-iPad2 release to 12% post release
• 26% of those who do not currently own a Tablet plan to purchase one within the next year
• Most owners are Generation X or Baby Boomers, their average household income is over $109,000 (56% greater than non-Tablet owners), and nearly half have children under 18
• 75% of Tablet owners bought their Tablet to complement their other devices

Tablet ownership among online buyers skews female, as does ecommerce overall. Within each gender, a greater percentage of men own the device than women. Tablet ownership is highly correlated to household income, with owners having significantly higher household income levels than non-Tablet owners.

Key Demographics
	Own a Tablet	Do Not Own a Tablet	Plan to Purchase Within 12 Months	Waiting for Technology Evolution	Waiting for Price to Decrease
Average HH Income	$109,690	$70,375	$83,740	$77,658	$53,692
Average Age	44	45	44	45	41
Gender
Male	44%	39%	40%	43%	30%
Female	56%	61%	60%	57%	70%
Children Under 18	46%	37%	44%	34%	49%
Source: Bizrate Insights/Forrester, May 2011

Tablet owners are valuable customers for online retailers:

• 60% have shopped online with their Tablet; of those, 78% have placed an order using their Tablet
• Tablet owners spent 28% more per order on average on orders than non-Tablet owners
• 56% have downloaded a shopping app; retailer specific apps are the most popular

Men are participating in ecommerce through their Tablets at a greater rate than women: 63% of men have shopped, with 81% converting to purchase, while 58% of women have shopped, and 75% have converted to purchase. 37% of those who have not shopped online with their tablet say they "haven't needed to, or haven't thought to."

Shopped or Bought Online With Tablet (% of Owners)
Shopped Online	47%
Shopped, but not bought	13
Have not shopped	40
Source: Bizrate Insights/Forrester, May 2011

The Tablet is increasing the total amount of time spent online:

• 49% of Tablet owners report spending more time online than they did prior to owning a Tablet and 42% are spending the same amount of time online
• The most common complaints of 56% of owners who have shopped online through their Tablet are that the experience is limited (unlike on a computer), it's difficult to click on what they want, and the lack of support for Flash technology

While often considered a mobile device, says the report, Tablets are most frequently used at home. The top three locations for usage are the family room/living room, the bedroom, and the airport/airplanes. Outside of the top three locations, a greater percentage of men tend to use their tablets in a stationary environment, such as the office, whereas a greater percentage of women use their Tablets in the car and at restaurants or coffee shops.

Tablet Use Locations (% of Users; Multiple Response)
Location	% of Users
Home
Family room/living room	81%
Bedroom	53
Home office	35
Another room at home	31
Kitchen	30
Travel
Airports/airplanes	46
Hotel	35
Car	32
Train	10
Bus	6
Other Locations
Office	35
Restaurants/coffee shops	25
Parks/recreational areas	16
Sports events or activities	10
Other	5
Source: Bizrate Insights/Forrester, May 2011

As adoption grows, tablets will likely provide at-home and portable (but not truly mobile) shopping experiences, while the role of smartphones solidifies as a complement to the in-store shopping experience, Forrester notes.

Findings for this study are based on two surveys among more than 28,000 online buyers immediately after purchase from Jan 26 to Feb 28, 2011, and more than 20,000 online buyers from March 14 to April 5.

For additional information, please visit Bizrate Insights here.