BII REPORT: The Rise Of The Tablet Consumer

It has long been known that consumers use their tablets to research purchases.

But tablets are also used to complete purchases, much more so than smartphones.

In a recent report from BI Intelligence, we examine the rise of the tablet consumer, look at the size of the mobile commerce opportunity in dollar terms, and analyze how some of the top mobile commerce trends - including mobile payments, tablet commerce, and SoLoMo (social-local-mobile) marketing - are contributing to a big increase in mobile commerce.

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Here's a brief overview of the rise of the tablet consumer:

• Mobile commerce is big, and getting bigger: 29% of U.S. mobile users already have used their smartphones to make a purchase. Bank of America predicts $67.1 billion in revenue from smartphone and tablet retail purchasing by European and U.S. shoppers in 2015.
• Tablets are a big part of the research process: According to comScore, over half of tablet owners used their devices to compare price, product, and store information. In a recent survey, one in five tablet users said they completed these activities, "almost every day."
• But tablets are also used to complete purchases: Traffic from tablet visitors to retail websites quadrupled during 2011. Tablets now drive more traffic to online retailers than smartphones, accounting for 7% of traffic to ecommerce sites (vs. 5% for smartphones).
• And tablet consumers also spend more money: In 2011, tablet consumers spent 50 percent more per order on retail websites than smartphone shoppers — and more unexpectedly, 20 percent more than shoppers on PCs.
• Tablet device sales will fuel additional growth in the coming years: With lower prices, more device options, and emerging market opportunities, tablet sales are set to explode to 450 million annually by 2016. Increased tablet commerce volume will likely come along with it.

In full, BI Intelligence's report on Mobile Commerce examines:

• The opportunity in numbers: How big is the opportunity, how fast is mobile commerce growing, and what are the niches where mobile commerce has carved out a significant role
• The emergence of mobile payments solutions as full-service shopping apps, not just transactional tools
• The contribution of tablet consumers to the explosion in mobile commerce
• The mobile marketing techniques, such as SoLoMo and gamiifcation, that can prove uniquely effective in solving traditional commerce challenges
• The mobile commerce implications of rise of Pinterest and mobile native fashion apps

To access BI Intelligence's full reports on Mobile Commerce, sign up for a free trial subscription here.

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, is an investor in Business Insider.