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2012 to be year of tablet-driven online shopping

Monday, January 9, 2012 - 09:41 by Simon Crisp

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The popularity of tablet devices like the iPad could see more people enjoying safe shopping online from a portable device in 2012 than ever before, according to a report published recently by Logan Tod and Co.

In a survey of more than 1000 people, it was found that 14 per cent had used a tablet to shop online over Christmas 2011 and it is thought that smartphones could eventually be eclipsed by the iPad, when it comes to making purchases on a mobile platform.

In 2010, just seven per cent of consumers reported that they had used an m-commerce site to buy presents for the festive period, but in 2011, this figure had increased to 15 per cent.

The total e-commerce sector is expected to see sales grow by up to 22 per cent later in 2012, when consumers once more turn to their tablets, smartphones and home PCs, to shop online.

All retailers could benefit from an improved sales outlook for the end of this year, as over a quarter of respondents said that they are planning to splash more cash around before Christmas 2012.

Spokesperson, Matthew Tod, said that m-commerce has really matured in recent months and he praised the retailers who are embracing a multichannel approach to shopping, in order to cling onto growth in a market that is turning sour for some of the less forward-thinking firms.

He also pointed out that the retailers would need to take into account the rise of the tablet when developing their m-commerce strategies this year, because the increased screen size and variety of different inputs means that people will be using them in a different way when they shop online, when you compare them to the current crop of smartphone technology.