More Americans are buying tablets, using tablets, and researching and buying products based on advertising they’ve seen on their tablet screens, says a July 4 brief from the Center
for Media Research. This creates new opportunities for online advertisers.
That’s the conclusion of a nationally representative online survey of 2,540 people conducted by the Online Publishers Association in partnership with research firm Frank N. Magid Associates.
More users
Last year, 12% of the online population owned or used a tablet regularly. This year, tablet adoption is up to 31% (74 million). By next June, it’s expected to be 47%, or 117 million tablet users.
More women
While last year, women owned 40% of the tablets in use, this year’s percentage — 45% — is one-eighth higher.
More than half of the consumers (52%) who plan to buy a tablet within the next 12 months are women.
More tablet use
Increasingly, owners prefer their tablets over computers, mobile phones, e-readers, printed media and other, larger-format, sources of long-form video. Almost 25 million consumers — 87% of tablet users — check for content and information regularly, while 93% have downloaded apps.
Surprisingly, even though tablets were originally sold for their mobility, 67% of owners use them at home.
More Android use
Android tablet penetration (47%) has just about pulled even with Apple’s iOS (52%), freeing advertisers from worry about still-costly iAds media costs.
More receptivity to advertising
But the best news for advertisers is that, according to the survey, tablet users really like to see advertising. More than half — 54%, up from 40% last year — said they prefer free apps with advertising to low-cost apps that have none.
Nearly half the users (47%) who buy newspaper and magazine apps said they find tablet advertising eye-catching and hard to ignore, 41% find it relevant, 40% unique and interesting. In addition, 37% said they found the advertising motivated them to buy products and 35% to research them.
More online buying
More tablet users like doing their online shopping on their tablets (52%) than their computers (40%).
Nearly a third — 31% — not only shop, but also buy regularly.
More than half (54%, compared to 38% last year) bought something they saw advertised on their tablets, while 38% researched products, 30% clicked on ads and 28% used an offer or coupon.
So if you advertise online, don’t neglect this growing market of affluent consumers. Keep your ads simple, keep them clean, keep them eye-catching, and, above all, keep them relevant. That way, your message will keep working on tablets’ smaller screens.
