Heavy tablet users warming up to ads

As tablet usage continues to soar, advertising on the devices has been slow to follow—even though recent numbers show that many users of the gadgets are warming up to ads. A study conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates for the Online Publishers Association (OPA), asked 2,540 people about their attitudes and behaviors toward tablet readers. The survey found that 31% of that population currently uses a tablet. That’s up from 12% a year ago, and the number is expected to reach 47% by 2013. Some good news for advertisers: Some 38% of tablet users say they’ve made a purchase after seeing an ad on a tablet, spending an average of $359 on products in the last year. Plus, 29% have researched a product in the last six months, while 23% have clicked through on an ad, 20% have used a special offer or coupon, and 19% have gone to a product’s website. “The big question will be whether some of that behavior is due to novelty, or whether it will hold as the tablet market further matures,” noted TechCrunch’s Ingrid Lunden.

Furthermore, tablet users are also open to paying for content: 61% have bought content such as magazines, e-books and videos, and 72% have purchased apps, a number that’s nearly doubled from a year ago. Tablet users spent approximately $2.6 billion on apps in the past 12 months, up from $1.4 billion in the prior year. “Considering tablets have only been available for a little over two years, the findings of this study truly underscore the possibilities for publishers to grow their business as consumers are willing to open their wallets in order to have original content at their fingertips,” Pam Horan, president of the OPA, said in a release.

• More Tablet Owners Want Free Apps, With Ads, Instead of Paid (Ad Age)

• Heavy Tablet Users Respond More Positively to Ads, Survey Shows (Adweek)

• Android Tablets Catch Up To Apple iPads In Usage (Investor’s Business Daily)

• OPA: iOS And Android Level In U.S. Tablet Market, Penetration 47% By 2013, $2.6B Spent On Apps In 2012 (TechCrunch)

• Tablet Users Act On Ads (MediaPost)

• Tablet App Market Hits $2.6B (Mediabistro)

• It’s True: Digital Ads Work Better On Readers Who Pay (Forbes)

• Tablets are the new black: Use in U.S. grows 19% in one year (Los Angeles Times)