Right Time Online Marketing To The Tablet User

March 12, 2012 - PRLog -- With the launch of the Apple iPad 3 due in March 2012, the tablet revolution appears to continue apace. Viewed as the ultimate search and social multi tasking device for a multi channel world, over 2 in 5 owners use tablets at home, at work or on the move.

Dubbed the ‘third screen’ along with smartphone and PC / laptop, studies are increasingly showing that owners tend to use the device not only for internet browsing, video watching, social media networking and gaming. Tablets are becoming most often used in conjunction with key home consumer activities, such as online shopping and instant checking out of a brand identity and their products / services advertised on TV.

Shopping online has undoubtedly, become a popular activity with tablet owners with nearly 50 per cent claiming they already purchase online via their tablet while a further 13 per cent have searched for goods online using their tablet without purchasing.

In 2011, a survey of online shoppers revealed  that around 9 per cent said they owned a tablet PC and most preferred to use their tablets to using smartphones when buying online as they found their tablet as easy to use as their computer when searching and ordering goods. Amongst tablet owners, around 75 per cent own a smartphone as well, which means that 7 per cent of online shoppers own both a tablet and smartphone for multichannel and platform jumping.

All the signs are that tablets are beginning to seriously change the way consumers search, shop, and play online! The implications are that eCommerce  needs to optimise for opportunities that the instant portability of the popular 7–10 in touchscreen format brings to the online marketing table!

However, as with much of today’s social marketing strategies, the key to effective engagement via the tablet platform is the critical requirment to understand potential customer needs and behaviours adjusted to real time activity and location. According to Google search data released in September, 2011, search volumes vary throughout the day according to whether a smartphone, tablet or desktop PC is being used.

It was found that desktop PCs are mostly used during business hours with peaks appearing at 9am and falling at 6pm, with a small spike around 8pm. Smartphone usage increases throughout the day, peaking during the morning and evening commute and into the evening. Tablets however, are used intensively in the evening.

Thus, knowing a target audience time frame is crucial when planning cross channel campaigns. Both mobile and tablet command less time to grab and maintain attention and convert by call to action. The variability of usage by  time of day and day of the week need to be factored in and most importantly, considering what your prospect may actually be doing at the time! Whether on the move or at home on the sofa, it’s crucial they receive the right message to fit the circumstance and need!

According to Forrester Research, as adoption grows, tablets will likely become the essential device, “ ... for at-home and portable shopping experiences... “, while the role of the smartphone will likely be to dominate the “in-store shopping experience”. Before 2012, market analysts were already confidently forecasting that global sales of tablets were likely to exceed 70 million, a rise of nearly 52 million units on 2011 and the 17 million sold in 2010!

Visit http://www.weprovoke.co.uk for more information and advice.

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