Earlier this week, Microsoft made waves by announcing the company was entering the tablet wars. They face stiff competition from the likes of Apple, Samsung, Amazon, H-P…
One thing is clear, the industry is doubling down on tablets. So if your marketing plan doesn’t account for tablets, you might want to revisit it.
We’ve written before about why tablets need to be a part of your marketing plan. But we wanted to share some recent stats that tell you everything about the state of the tablet market.
First off, the tablet market continues to grow. Research firm IDC expects 106 million tablets to ship in 2012. According to ABI Research, 18.2 million tablets were shipped in the past quarter. Samsung, the number two tablet provider, shipped just over a million.
But the iPad still dominates – to the tune of nearly 12 million tablets shipped in the previous quarter.
And the penetration rate for the iPad and tablets is expected to continue, though it will likely slow down a bit, according to data from eMarketer.
That brings us to another chart: The growth of the iPad. If you think the iPod and iPhone were groundbreaking, the iPad is blowing away their growth rate, according to this chart from Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends report.
Other tablets have attempted to breakthrough, most notably Amazon.com. Late last year, Amazon.com released the Kindle Fire to great fanfare. It took off! Now it’s coming back down, as this chart from 451 Research shows.
That’s not expected to change anytime soon.
Based on 451 Research’s survey data, people planning to buy a tablet are leaning heavily towards the iPad.
If you’re asking why the iPad is so dominant, here’s your answer. The satisfaction rate for iPads blow away the competition, according to 451 Research’s survey.
So what can we gleam from this data?
For one, the iPad rules the market, and signs point to it’s continued growth. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention to new entrants – it’s a young market. But, for now, the iPad is biggest kid on the block.
Secondly, if you’re not convinced that you need to make your marketing mobile-friendly, the data should be the proof you need.
Clearly, more people will be accessing the web through their tablets. This represents a great opportunity to engage buyers where they are with smart, relevant, well-designed content and apps.
What are some specific ways you plan to market through tablets?
