Why Your Business Can’t Afford To Ignore Tablet Users

Who would have thought when Steve Jobs first introduced the iPad back in 2010, that it would become so popular? All over the internet, reviewers were opening mocking the tablet as a clumsy over-sized iPhone.

Now a quarter of all US Internet users own tablets and the figures are similar in other countries too. That means in the US alone, there are 56 million people who are just as likely to encounter your site on a tablet as they would on their laptop or desktop. Your business really can’t afford to miss the opportunity to talk to that many people and if you don’t make your web design tablet friendly, you will miss them completely.

Having a tablet-friendly website can mean a huge boost to your revenue.

Who are tablet users and why should your business care?
Tablet users aren’t just a random selection of the online community. No, they are a discerning group of customers and are among the wealthiest because they come from demographics with the largest disposable income.

Recently released stats give you an idea of the market your site could reach as a result of having a tablet friendly site.

•    The gender of tablet users are pretty much evenly split—51% female, 49% male
•    About half of tablet users fall between the ages of 25 and 44
•    Just over half (51%) are college graduates
•    Just over half (53%) make over $75,000 a year
•    71% prefer to read their news as opposed to watching it—a huge boon for bloggers.
•    Tablet users are more likely to be employed full-time (62% of tablet users are employed full-time versus 41% of the general population)

In other words, tablet users are internet savvy, educated, and financially-independent. This is why it is so important to reach this demographic.

Another hugely important reason to target tablet users is the way they use them to view information online. You will often see people in waiting rooms, on public transport and in coffee shops and bars using their tablet device. That is in addition to them using them before they go to bed or other opportunities when they just want to wind down. They are giving their undivided attention to the information that they are browsing, so they are much more likely to explore and shop online without any distractions.

How you can attract tablet traffic
It is the sites that fail to accommodate tablet-based browsing that will eventually lose out and get left behind, so if you want your site to attract these visitors then you need to make your user interface as smooth and visitor friendly as possible.

The most important part of attracting tablet consumers is to make sure that your web design displays correctly on both Android and iPad tablets. Users should be able to check out your site in both portrait and landscape mode. They definitely will not want to have to zoom or swipe their device in order to navigate round your site.

Now is the perfect time to start attracting highly connected, high income consumers and to make sure that your business doesn’t get left behind.