A new survey has found that over one in four British consumers now owns a tablet, which has led to a record £6.3 billion being spent on advertising on such devices in the past year.
According the latest Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB) Digital Adspend report, conducted by PwC, over one third (36%) of people accessing the internet are now doing so via tablets.
17.9 million of us now own a tablet, the report found a 63% year-on-year growth from this time last year, when ownership figures were 11.0 million.
This proliferation of devices means that tablets are increasingly becoming the "go-to" device to access the Internet, with 57% of those surveyed saying they used a tablet as their primary surfing tool.
Two-thirds of owners (66%) say it’s easier to go online using a tablet. Almost two-thirds (65%) like to use them while watching TV.
The report also looked into which areas of people’s lives without would be affected the most without access to the Internet. Banking/finance came out on top, being cited by almost half (48%) of Britons, followed by keeping up with current affairs (37%) and relationships with friends and family (35%).
This explosion in the number of devices owned by consumers has led to a major rise ion the amount of spending on mobile and online advertising. The report found that such spending increased by £853 million to total £6.30 billion in 2013 – up from £5.45 billion in 2012.
Tablet-dedicated advertising alone grew over 400% during 2013 to reach £34.4 million in 2013; up from £6.8 million in 2012.
