Tablets or Smartphones

Which is the Most Effective Device for Advertisers?

Do you know?

• In 2013, about 20 percent of Internet traffic is projected to be mobile (KPCB)
• Use of mobile search has grown by 500 percent over the past two years (Econsultancy)
• 82% percent of mobile shoppers use search to influence their purchasing decisions (Google Online Shopper Study)
• Across all industries, mobile traffic is increasing by 3.5 percent per month (Televox)
• Of the estimated 30 billion annual mobile searches, about 12 billion are local searches (Search Engine Land)
• Seventy-seven percent of mobile searches occur at home or work—even if a PC is nearby (Search Engine Land)

It is evident from the above statistics that mobile marketing will be the significant growth driver for brands globally. Many businesses have already directed their marketing strategies towards mobile devices in order to engage and acquire customers online. But the most important decision lies ahead for many is, which is the most effective device for advertising, i.e. a smartphone or a tablet? Here are three determinants which shows that tablets are far more popular among the users as compared to smartphones, thus, making them a preferred choice of many marketers to advertise.

I. Usage

1. Tablet usage is growing at a striking speed, with traffic from tablet devices doubling over the past year, according to new data from Adobe's Digital Index. Additionally, tablets surpassed smartphones for the first time in February 2013, when looking at global traffic share.

Adobe looked at more than 100 billion visits to more than 1,000 websites worldwide, and found that 8% of visits came from tablets in February, slightly more than the 7% of visits that came from smartphones. [Fig. 1]

Fig. 1

Smartphones continue to be more common among consumers, but tablets, obviously, offer a better option for browsing, shopping, and engaging with content, and a more in-depth experience overall. Adobe found that tablet users visit 70% more pages per visit while using a tablet compared with a smartphone. [Source:adexchanger]

2. Based on a survey of more than 13,000 consumers, a Forrester report shows that, “Tablets are being used primarily at home, with 67% of U.S. tablet owners access them in the living room, and 57% in the bedroom.” On the contrary, smartphones are used on-the-go and at home for communication, content-snacking, chat/messaging and gaming apps.

Fig. 2

With more and more users using their tablet devices at home shows that the users are in no hurry and are using the device in a relaxed mood. There is high probability that the tablet users may not be annoyed with the ads and remain unperturbed with their presence on the screen while using the device. Thus, giving advertisers more opportunities to advertise their products and services on tablets as compared to smartphones

Smartphones are more “Type A” devices, where users are inclined in completing a specific task and getting things done. For example, the study found that 75% of mobile consumers use smartphones while shopping in stores; and only 8% use tablets (size does matter, as users cannot carry their tablets everywhere and every-time).

II. Ad Recall Value

A collective study of about 8,300 people by IPG Media Lab and digital video advertiser YuMe suggests that viewers remember ads better when they watch them on tablets than when they watch them on smartphones, computers or TVs. [Fig. 3]

Fig. 3

III. Growth in Revenue
According to a report released by MarketLive, “Revenue is growing at a faster rate on tablets than smartphones.”  During the first half of 2013, tablet revenue is growing eight times [Fig. 4] faster as compared to smartphones.

Fig. 4

“The biggest news is the dramatic increase in revenue and visits on both mobile phones and tablets, 40 percent revenue increase has seen on phones, where as there is 77 percent increase on tablets; there is 40 percent increase in traffic on phones and 74 percent increase of visits on tablets,” said Ken Burke, founder and chairman of MarketLive.

However, in terms of reach, smartphones are far ahead of tablets as the number of smartphone users is higher than that of tablets. We have explained this here.

One approach does not fit all marketers alike. You need to keep in mind several other factors such as;

• Who is your target audience?
• Which is the best method to disseminate your message among users, a smartphone or a tablet?
• Which device can carry your brand image or identity? For instance, a luxury car ad looks good on a tablet, where advertiser can publish the car image with all its features and other details.

Mobile devices are increasingly becoming the shoppers’ devices. And since the 2013 holiday shopping season is close by it is always good for retailers to offer a strong user experience to their potential customers to avoid the risk of losing potential customers to their competitors. Therefore, advertisers need to create a marketing strategy based on behavioral preferences of users/audience while using them.

For more information on mobile app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

You might also like:

How Does Social Media Influence Buyers' Decisions?

How Mobile Devices are Benefiting SMBs?