From the press release:
The Online Publishers Association (OPA) has released “A Portrait of Today’s Tablet User – Wave II,” a study unveiling a range of trends on the attitudes and behaviors of tablet users. Accessing content and information was found to be the dominant activity on the device (94%), followed by accessing the internet (67%) and checking email (66%). The study also revealed that tablet users’ primary content-related activities include: watching video (54%), getting weather information (49%), and accessing national news (37%) and entertainment content (36%).
The OPA collaborated with Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc. to conduct the study. Magid fielded a nationally-representative online survey of 2,540 people, ages 8 to 64 years old between March 19 and March 26, 2012. The survey found that current U.S. tablet adoption is at 31% in 2012 (74MM tablet users), up from 12% in 2011 (28MM tablet users) and is expected to reach 47% (117MM tablet users) by Q2 2013.*
“The growing base of tablet users is also showing a healthy appetite for paid content with 61% having purchased tablet content in the past year,” said Pam Horan, President of the OPA. “Considering tablets have only been available for a little over two years, the findings of this study truly underscore the possibilities for publishers to grow their business as consumers are willing to open their wallets in order to have original content at their fingertips.”
“The survey also showcased great opportunities for advertisers as 38% of tablet users have made a purchase after having seen tablet advertising. We also found that tablet users purchased an average of $359 in products from the device in the past year,” noted Horan. “In addition to strong purchasing trends, 29% of tablet users also indicated that tablet advertising drives them to research products and 23% have clicked on an advertisement.”
Other key findings from “A Portrait of Today’s Tablet User – Wave II” include:
- Tablets have become embedded in users’ lives with 74% using the device daily and 60% using it several times a day;
- Tablet users spend an average of 13.9 hours per week with their tablets;
- 92% of video watched on the tablet is short form news and entertainment — which includes sports, weather, news and TV show clips — followed by 64% viewing user generated content (e.g. YouTube);
- Paid apps account for 23% of all tablet apps downloaded in the past year; and
- The tablet app market has doubled with an estimated $2.6B spent in 2012, up from $1.4B in 2011*.
“The survey also found that tablet users are increasingly becoming cross-platform consumers, with 32% of tablet users simultaneously using two screens for 3.1 hours per day and 29% simultaneously using three screens for 2.8 hours per day,” Horan noted. “The two and three screen audiences are also more likely to purchase a product after seeing tablet advertising, then the general tablet population, providing an incredible opportunity for cross-platform advertising campaigns.”
To download a copy of the study’s findings, click here.
