eMarketer: Tablet Activity Differs by Demographic

eMarketer is estimating there will be somewhere in the ballpark of 70 million tablet users by the end of 2012, which is an increase of over 100 percent from 2011. However, not all of those users will be doing the same things on their devices.

A survey from from Keynote Systems found unique differences in tablet activity depending on the age of the user. Though all tablet owners under 50 used the devices most for playing games, shopping was next in line for those aged 18-29. For users over 30, using tablets for email was much more common—ages 30-49 were twice as likely to use tablets for email than the 18-29 group, while ages 50-64 were almost three times as likely. In fact, email was the most common use for the 50-64 group, and this group was also the most likely to view videos on a tablet. eMarketer estimates that US tablet users are divided pretty evenly into thirds from ages 18-34, 35-44, and 45-plus.

The data points to how important it is to understand your customer base and how to deliver the right marketing material the right way. Based on the numbers, optimizing email marketing on tablets for an older customer base could have a big impact—including tablet-specific landing pages with videos of products, for example—while the tablet shopping experience should be tailored to younger demographics. Remember, if you don’t provide the experience that customers want, they will find someone that does. With tablet use likely to continue growing rapidly—better Android tablets and the potential for an iPad mini before the holiday season should spur growth even further—it’s incredibly important to understand how your brand can be generating customers with mobile marketing and tablet interaction.

How are you optimizing the tablet experience for your target demographics?