Tablet owners drive e-commerce to mags, but mobile use still not huge

More and more tablet owners are seeking out electronic content over their paper counterparts, according to a new survey. A study from GfK MRI found that a majority of tablet magazine readers (67%) would rather read an electronic version of a magazine than a paper version. What’s more, many tablet users would like more e-commerce in digital magazines. GfK MRI’s survey found that 70% of tablet owners would like to be able to buy items by clicking on ads in a digital magazine.

But does readers’ interest in digital content translate into explosive use of the mobile Internet? A recent separate study from StatCounter found that only 8.5 percent of Internet visits came from mobile devices last year. That’s almost double the percentage from 2010, when mobile gadgets made up 4.3 percent of Internet visits. Still, the numbers are steady, rather than impressive, and show that mobile web growth still has a ways to go. “These still-low figures … go some way to explaining why certain businesses, like mobile advertising, are still not the money spinners you would expect them to be,” PaidContent’s Ingred Lunden explained. “The usage volumes are just simply not there yet.”

• Tablet Owners: More e-Commerce In Digital Magazines (MediaPost)
  
• Magazines on Tablets: Readers Want Uniform Format (GfK MRI release)
  
• Study: Mag readers want consistency on tablet (News & Tech)
  
• Only 8.5% Of Internet Usage Comes Via Mobile (paidContent)
  
• Nokia Leads Way in Global Mobile Web Use (Wall Street Journal)
  
• Since 2009, Mobile Internet Usage Has Doubled Every Year (ReadWriteWeb)