RESTON, Va., June 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released new insights on the U.S. tablet market from comScore TabLens™, its forthcoming monthly syndicated service providing insights into tablet ownership and usage. The report found that tablets have quickly reached a critical mass in the U.S. with 1 in every 4 smartphone owners using tablets during the three-month average period ending April 2012. The study also found that tablet users were nearly three times more likely to watch video on their device compared to smartphone users, with 1 in every 10 tablet users viewing video content almost daily on their device.
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"Tablets are one of the most rapidly adopted consumer technologies in history and are poised to fundamentally disrupt the way people engage with the digital world both on-the-go and perhaps most notably, in the home," said Mark Donovan, comScore SVP of Mobile. "It's not surprising to see that once consumers get their hands on their first tablet, they are using them for any number of media habits including TV viewing."
Tablets Used by 1 in Every 4 Smartphone Owners as Connected Consumer Becomes a Reality
In just two years since the launch of the iPad, the first tablet to reach a meaningful market penetration, tablet adoption has exploded fueled by the introduction of new devices that appeal to various price and feature preferences. In April 2012, 16.5 percent of mobile phone subscribers used a tablet, representing an increase of 11.8 percentage points in the past year. Growth in market penetration was even more apparent among the smartphone population with nearly 1 in 4 using a tablet device in April, an increase of 13.9 percentage points in the past year. A lower 10.4 percent of feature phone owners use a tablet, suggesting that smartphone ownership is highly predictive of tablet adoption in the current market.
Tablet Users Among Mobile Audiences 3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012 vs. Apr. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone), Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|||
% of Audience that Uses Tablet |
|||
Apr-11 |
Apr-12 |
Point |
|
Total Mobile (Feature Phone & Smartphone) |
4.7% |
16.5% |
11.8 |
Smartphone Only |
9.7% |
23.6% |
13.9 |
Feature Phone Only |
2.3% |
10.4% |
8.1 |
Demographic Profile: Tablet Users Skew Older and Toward Upper Income Households
A demographic analysis of mobile device audiences indicated that tablet and smartphone audiences closely resemble one another in terms of gender composition, with tablet users just slightly more likely to be female than smartphone users. However, the age composition of audiences showed that tablet users skewed noticeably older than smartphone users. For both devices, the heaviest overall audience concentration was between the ages of 25-44. Compared to smartphone owners, tablet users were 28 percent more likely to be in the 65 and older age segment, and 27 percent less likely to be age 18-24.
Tablet users also skewed toward upper income households, likely a function of the high price point of these devices still considered a luxury good to many consumers. Nearly 3 in 5 tablet users resided in households with income of $75,000 or greater, compared to 1 in every 2 smartphone users.
Demographic Profile: Tablet* and Smartphone Audience 3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012 Total U.S. Tablet Owners and Smartphone Subscribers, Age 13+ Source: comScore TabLens and comScore MobiLens |
|||
% Share of |
% Share of |
Index of Tablet |
|
Total Audience |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100 |
Gender: |
|||
Male |
49.2% |
51.6% |
95 |
Female |
50.8% |
48.4% |
105 |
Age: |
|||
13-17 |
7.3% |
6.5% |
112 |
18-24 |
12.3% |
16.9% |
73 |
25-34 |
24.4% |
25.3% |
96 |
35-44 |
21.4% |
21.2% |
101 |
45-54 |
17.8% |
15.7% |
113 |
55-64 |
10.1% |
9.2% |
110 |
65+ |
6.8% |
5.3% |
128 |
Household Income: |
|||
<$25k |
7.4% |
11.7% |
63 |
$25k to <$50k |
17.7% |
19.5% |
91 |
$50k to <$75k |
18.9% |
19.5% |
97 |
$75k to <$100k |
18.3% |
15.9% |
115 |
$100k+ |
37.7% |
33.4% |
113 |
*comScore defines a media tablet as a touchscreen tablet device with a slate form factor, a 7 inch or greater screen size and a data connection, but no voice plan. Single purpose eBook reader devices are excluded from this definition. |
**Index = % of Tablet Audience/% of Smartphone Audience x 100; Index of 100 indicates average representation |
Tablet Audience Nearly 3x as Likely to Watch Video as Smartphone Users
A closer look at content consumption on tablets found that more than half of tablet users watched video and/or TV content on their device in April 2012, compared to just 20 percent of the smartphone audience, with larger screen sizes making tablets more conducive to video consumption than their smaller-screen cousins. Not only were tablet users more likely to watch video, but they were more likely to view video habitually with 18.9 percent of tablet users watching video content at least once a week, and 9.5 percent watching video nearly every day on their device. Of those viewing video at least once during the month, 1 in 4 (26.7 percent) paid to watch content, highlighting the tremendous monetization potential this platform represents for content providers.
Video/TV Viewing on Device for Tablet* and Smartphone Audience 3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012 Total U.S. Tablet Owners and Smartphone Subscribers, Age 13+ Source: comScore TabLens and comScore MobiLens |
||
Share of Audience that Watched |
||
% of Tablet |
% of |
|
Ever in month |
53.0% |
20.0% |
Once to three times throughout the month |
24.6% |
10.3% |
At least once each week |
18.9% |
6.7% |
Almost every day |
9.5% |
2.9% |
*comScore defines a media tablet as a touchscreen tablet device with a slate form factor, a 7 inch or greater screen size and a data connection, but no voice plan. Single purpose eBook reader devices are excluded from this definition. |
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including, but not limited to, expectations regarding the impact and benefits to comScore of the comScore TabLens™, financial or otherwise. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to: the features and characteristics of the products, the rate of development of the digital marketing intelligence, Internet advertising and e-Commerce markets; the growth of the Internet as a medium for commerce, content, advertising and communications; and the acceptance of new products and methodologies by the industry, including existing and prospective clients.
For a detailed discussion of these and other risk factors, please refer to comScore's most recent respective Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Reports on Form 10-K and from time to time other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available on the SEC's Web site ( http://www.sec.gov).
Stockholders of comScore are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made. comScore does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or new information after the date of this press release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
SOURCE comScore, Inc.
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