The e-tailing group recently released a study of the online buying habits of mobile consumers. “The Shopping Mindset of a Mobile Consumer” is based on a February survey of 1,000 owners of smartphones and/or tablets, who each spend upwards of $250 online yearly. Results show that tablet owners are using their mobile device for e-commerce significantly more than smartphone owners; 1 in 10 tablet owners use the device to browse or buy online every day, vs. only 6% of smartphone owners.
Accroding to estimates by eMarketer, US tablet owners will represent 7.6% of the population by the end of 2011 (up from 3.1% in 2010). Smartphone ownership is more widespread, reaching 23.4% of US consumers in 2011, up 4% from 2010.
The study indicates that tablet owners are more eager to shop and purchase online:
- Nearly 1 in 4 tablet owners made at least 6 purchases in the last 6 months vs. only 15% of smartphone users
- Over one-third (36%) of smartphone owners made no purchases online in the last 6 months, vs. only 22% of tablet owners
- Tablet owners reported a higher level of satisfaction with their shopping experience; eMarketer speculates that the larger screen size is the ‘main factor’ in this improved shopping experience
- Fully half (50%) of tablet owners said their online shopping experience was “very satisfactory,” while only 32% of smartphone owners gave their experience the same rating
- When asked to compare online shopping on tablets vs. smartphones, 39% of tablet owners said tablets were “significantly better” for online shopping, 30% said tablets were “somewhat better”
- Smartphone buying was higher than tablet purchasing in only a few categories: music/DVD/videos, event tickets and food
