A different form factor can do a lot and while many initially doubted that a full blown industry would spawn out of tablet computers, Apple has helped make an industry grow extraordinarily. Its larger display enables less sacrifices when compared to smartphones and offers a surprising option for companies
Recent research has shown that within this year is the first time that tablets actually surpassed smartphones in website searches. This is astounding since tablets have really only been around for several years yet continue to be a popular alternative to PC devices. Although this increase is sizable, only 7% of the online retailers are table friendly devices. Many images do not function, advertising is missing and the change in landscape to portrait causes several frustrations to everyday users of the tablet. So what is important about an increase in website visits. Well, not only have tablets grown in website visits but show a strong conversion rate compared to other internet platforms. Tablets are nearing the limit with regular computers in conversion but are often with much higher value. It begs the questions that retailers should highly consider develop excellent table support because its form factor aligns very well with the being able to display products.
While the tablet market is still in its infancy, retailers certainly should keep an eye. It does raise an interesting question what types of retailers would most benefit from table support but the response so far has been good.