Tablet users spend most online, claims Adobe

Tablet users spend more money online than users of other browsing devices, according to a study from Adobe.

The company found that over the course of 2011 and the year-end holiday shopping season, tablet users spent 54 per cent more money than mobile handset users and 21 per cent more than desktop and notebook users.

The Adobe Digital Marketing Insights report also noted that tablet users visiting retail sites were just as likely to purchase items as desktop users and three times more likely than those viewing the site on a handset.

The report credits the figures, in part, to the current market for tablet devices. With most tablet owners being males between the ages of 18 and 34, visitors tend to be more likely to have the disposable income to make larger purchases.

"These findings suggest that retailers can no longer afford a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to mobile optimisation because tablet visitors and smartphone visitors are distinct customer segments," Adobe said in the report.

"Retailers should evaluate the opportunity that tablet visitors offer and develop strategies to better attract, convert and retain them."

The report comes in the wake of what has been a record holiday season for online retailers. With traffic and transaction levels climbing, some retailers have struggled to meet the demands on their online applications

The ongoing growth of consumerisation has helped to drive the growth of tablets in recent years. With end users increasingly relying on tablet devices, many enterprises have sought to add tablet support for both in-house and customer-facing sites and applications.