New Tablet Shopping Trend

Retailers are being urged to prepare for the next e-commerce trend as UK consumers embrace iPad and tablet shopping, mimicking the soar in popularity in the US.

Although the iPad was only launched 12 months ago, new European findings by the shopping search engine, Shopzilla, reveal that 6 perecent of shoppers already own a tablet and a further 20 percent plan to purchase one over the next year.

The trend is set to mirror the US where the iPad is driving a revolution in e-commerce and a recent Shopzilla study showed 12 percent of US consumers now have a tablet device.

The research by Shopzilla of almost 5,000 online shoppers was conducted in Europe’s three largest online retail markets: the UK, France and Germany . It reveals that 71 percent of iPad or tablet users have bought or would buy online using their device, 70 percent of tablet users watch TV while browsing shopping sites simultaneously, thanks to Dual-screen technology, and 53 percent of iPad or tablet users surveyed use their device to browse shopping sites with friends .

'the opportunity will be for the retailers who are first to get it right.’

With one in five online shoppers planning to buy a tablet in the next 12 months, retailers are being asked to prepare as this ‘is clearly set to be a huge trend for UK shoppers’ explains Rachel Smith, Business Services Senior Director at Shopzilla. ‘The year of mobile commerce is finally here. With the explosion of the tablet market we are seeing a seismic change, and the opportunity will be for the retailers who are first to get it right.

iPads and other tablet devices are also helping to drive the popularity of ‘social commerce’, with 53 percent of online consumers using their tablet to share online shopping activities with friends - whether it’s hunting for bargains, browsing reviews or making purchases.

Rachel Smith, Business Services Senior Director at Shopzilla, added, ‘With many retailers still learning how consumers are interacting with these new devices, it is vital that they are prepared for the tablet revolution.’