By the end of 2013, 6% of the global population owned a tablet device. In the US, this statistic translates to roughly one third of the population over 13 – over 100 million Americans! While the story of smartphone adoption rates was truly astounding, it's nothing compared to how quickly tablets are being adopted. Smartphones took nearly four years to reach 6% penetration; tablets hit this number in just two years. So who are all of these tablet users? In 2010, the tablet market was dominated by younger males with an above average income. This is no longer the case, in fact one in four moms in the US now own a tablet, according to a new survey by Nielsen. You can find infinite stats about tablet ownership and demographics all over the web, but in this article you’ll find information about the top three most likely tablet shoppers. We’ve broken down all of those numbers to give you the best insights into understanding how valuable tablet users are as a customer segment, and how you can take steps to ensure they convert well on your site.

1. The Top 3 Tablet Shoppers
Who they are and why you should care about them.

2. Tablet Shoppers are Incredibly
Valuable Customers.
Tablet users are highly engaged
and have no problem spending
money online.
Studies show that they spend on
average 20% more per order
than desktop shoppers.
Tablet Desktop
+20%

3. To help answer these questions, we’ve aggregated the stats,
analyzed the facts, and broken down the numbers to give you
insight into the top 3 demographics of tablet shoppers. Let’s call
them Steve, Laura & Sarah.
• Who are these tablet shoppers?
• How can you ensure they convert well on your site?
But You’re Probably Wondering:

4. 1Steve.
• 29-45 y.o. male.
• Employed full-time.
• Has a college degree or above.
• Income of over $75,000.
• Spends the majority of time on his tablet browsing the
web (35%+).
• Prefers checking his email outside of the office on his
tablet rather than his phone.
Consumes news on
his tablet daily
Lives in or near a
major city
Makes purchases on
his tablet weekly

5. 2Laura.
• 35-50 y.o. female.
• College graduate.
• Employed, likely to include part-time or flexible work.
• Family income of $75k or more.
• Likely to be married with kids.
• Active in the community and likely to regularly tell
friends & family about new products and services.
Keeps up-to-
date with latest
fashions &
trends
More likely to
own an iPad
than any other
tablet
Regularly uses
her tablet for
social
networking

6. Regularly
consumes video
content on tablet
Spends more time on
tablet than on
desktop/laptop
Big spenders
and enjoy luxury
items
3Sarah.
• 16-30 y.o. female.
• Currently in school or recently graduated.
• Just starting a career or thinking about who she wants
to be.
• Average household income of $62,000.
• Spends a large portion of her time playing games.
• Does all of her shopping research online.
• Uses her tablet for a wide variety of tasks.

7. So, How Can You
Make A Great
Experience For These
Customers?

8. 1. Optimize Website UX for Tablets
Ensure that all email communication
and any pages linked to in emails are all
tablet-optimized.
If a tablet customer clicks on a link in an
email and the corresponding page is
not tablet-friendly, they are more likely
to bounce from your site.
You can get a complete list of tablet web design best
practices at http://www.mobify.com/go/tablet-web-
design/).

9. 2. Optimize For Sharing
Verify that social sharing features on
your site are optimized and readily on
tablets.
These demographics are all very social
- they want to share your content - so
make it easy and fun for them to do so.

10. 3. Streamline the Checkout
Streamline the checkout procedure for tablet users by
reducing the number of steps and distractions they run
into.
Tablet shoppers are eager to make purchases on their
devices – but they are also easily discouraged. Make sure
you focus on providing a simple and distraction-free
checkout flow.

11. Tablet shoppers earn more, spend more, share more, and are
online more than non-tablet owners.
Ensuring that tablets are a priority in your web strategy can have a
significant impact on your e-commerce revenue and
dramatically increase the ROI of mobile initiatives!
Key Takeaways: