1 Billion Tablets Are Forecasted To Ship Over Next 5 Years

U.S. Consumer Tablet On-device Spending Soars with 22% of Users Spending More Than $50 per Month.€‹At the close of 2012, market intelligence firm ABI Research estimates nearly 200 million tablets will have shipped worldwide since 2009. A New research that explores the impact a tablet has on the daily life of a U.S. consumer shows that 22% of users spend $50 or more per month and 9% spend $100 or more; much higher than spending levels observed by smartphone owners. Tablets are quickly becoming the go-to transaction screen within the home,says mobile devices senior practice director Jeff Orr.

Spending on-device of physical and virtual goods has not yet impacted retail storefronts which are already concerned about their venues turning into showrooms for eventual e-commerce purchases. Logistics, such as price checking, using a coupon and location-based searches, consistently rank as the most common activities (each performed by more than 50% of tablet shoppers in the previous 90 days) while shopping. €œThe opportunity to keep consumers buying in-store squarely remains with the retailer. So far, the presence of a media tablet during the shopping experience has not altered the sales channel where consumers finally buy products,notes Orr.

The actual amount of cannibalization that a tablet has on traditional print and TV consumption varies. Most surprising is that tablets are increasingly used in conjunction with other media types (14% for TV; 17% for newspapers and magazines), which makes the experience more immerse than static-only content engagement.

These a €œConsumer Media Tablet Usage€ findings are part of ABI Research’s Media Tablets and eReaders Research Service, which includes Research Reports, Market Data, Insights, and Surveys.