Engaging the Tablet User:What They Expect From Web SitesThe first global study of tablet users’ web experience expectations

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IntroductionMobile has reached critical mass. It is widely believed that global mobile Internet users will outnumber desktop Internet users within the next few years.1 And it is not only smartphones that are driving this revolution. Tablets such as Apple’s iPad or Amazon’s Kindle Fire are increasingly making headlines with astounding growth and web site traffic share numbers.

Apple iPad sales are rapidly increasing. 2

iPad Unit Sales (in millions) Across 90 Countries

Q3 2010 Q4 2010 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012

F I S C A L Q U A R T E R S

Cumulative iPad SalesiPad Sales

Source: Apple quarterly earnings reports

3.27 4.197.33

4.699.25 11.12

15.43

3.27

7.4614.79 19.48

28.7339.85

55.28

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Explosive tablet growth is expected to continue with major new players such as Amazon, Samsung and Google/Motorola entering the fray. Consumers and enterprises have embraced tablets in large numbers for everything from web browsing and social networking to mission-critical business applications that increase employee productivity and drive revenue. Industry analyst firm Yankee Group expects tablet sales to reach 250 million worldwide by 2015.3

Organizations in industries ranging from financial services to retail are paying attention. One large U.S. retailer, Anthropologie, predicts that 20 percent of its 2012 online sales will come via tablets.4 In addition, industry analysts such as Forrester Research’s Sucharita Mulpuru note: “On average, retailers surveyed by Forrester report that 21 percent of their mobile traffic comes from tablets, with several companies anecdotally reporting figures north of 50 percent.” 5

Tablet users represent a coveted target audience. eBay has stated that tablet users spend 50 percent more than PC users, have higher average order values (AOV) and have higher or equivalent conversion rates.7 Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Gap Inc. have both gone on record that the highest percentage of conversions originates from shoppers using tablets.8

For retailers, the AOV for tablets is significantly higher than other e-commerce channels. 6

Because tablet users tend to be active, tech-savvy customers, we see iPad leads convert 30 percent higher than desktop-based transactions.9

— Mike Clem, Director of E-commerce, Sweetwater Sound, Inc.

AOV Calendar 2011

Smartphone Traditional Tablet

$80 $102 $123

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It’s not only retailers that see the benefits of growing tablet adoption. The Financial Times web site, FT.com, sees 20 percent of total page views and 15 percent of new B2C subscriptions each week originating directly from mobile and tablet devices. Readers who register on mobile or tablet devices are more engaged and are 2.5 times more likely to subscribe.10

One thing is clear — organizations that ignore tablet users do so at their peril. For organizations that depend on the web to drive business, tablets represent an important new channel for customer engagement. According to the Yankee Group, 83 percent of tablet owners use their devices to surf the web — by far the most popular activity.11 iPads have even begun to account for a higher percentage of Internet traffic than iPhones according to a recent report by comScore.12

But great opportunity comes with great danger. Failure to deliver fast, quality web experiences and meet rising end-user expectations can reduce revenue, increase costs and damage the brand. One thing is clear — fast is better than slow. According to Amazon, every 100 milliseconds in the improvement of page load times led to a 1 percent increase in revenue.13

“This link between increased usage and a faster user experience — be it search or mobile Gmail — reinforces something we at Google have known for a long time: fast is better than slow.”

— Robert Hamilton, Product Manager, Google Mobile Team

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So what are end users’ expectations when it comes to the web experience on tablets? To find out, Compuware commissioned the first global survey of tablet users’ web performance expectations. The study surveyed over more than 2,000 end users across North America, Europe and Asia who accessed the Internet on their tablet in the past six months.

Key Findings Include:

Tablet users’ web experience expectations are high.

- Almost 70 percent of tablet users expect a web site to load in two seconds or less.

- More than two thirds of tablet users expect web sites to load just as quickly, or quicker, than on a desktop/laptop computer.

Web site issues are common for tablet users.

- Four out of 10 tablet users have experienced web site problems.

- Among those who have experienced a problem, slow load times are the most frequently cited issue (66 percent), followed by site crashes (44 percent), problems with site functions (42 percent) and issues with site format (40 percent).

Poor web experiences on tablets impact the bottom line.

- Nearly half of tablet users will retry a web site only once or twice if it did not work initially.

- A bad web-site experience will also drive 46 percent of tablet users to competitive web sites; 35 percent are less likely to visit the problematic web site on any platform; and 33 percent are less likely to purchase from that company.

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Tablet Users’ Web Experience Expectations Are High

Tablet users expect web sites and transactions to work flawlessly. Their expectations have been shaped, in part, by quality web experiences on powerful PCs with fast wired networks delivered by Internet leaders like Amazon and Google, which are committed to delivering fast sites — no matter the platform. This is made apparent by the fact that almost 70 percent of tablet users expect a web site to load in two seconds or less.

How quickly should a web site load on your tablet?

Base: Total sample (N=2033)

11%

≥ 4 seconds

20%

3 seconds

32%

2 seconds

24%

1 second

13%

< 1 second

2 SECONDSMEDIAN EXPECTED LOAD TIME

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In fact, more than two thirds of tablet users expect web sites to load as fast, or faster, than on a desktop or laptop computer at home, while only one out of 10 expects a web site to load slower on a tablet. The message is clear — tablet users expect fast, quality web experiences.

Compared to your PC, how quickly should aweb site load on your tablet?

Base: Total sample (N=2033)

2%

Faster

8%

Equal

21%

Almost as fast

42%

Somewhat slower

28%

Much slower

« slower faster »

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Web site Issues Are Common For Tablet Users

Yet quality web experiences for tablet users are few and far between. Four out of 10 tablet users have experienced a problem when accessing web sites. Among those that experienced a problem, two thirds reported slow load times, and more than four out of ten experienced web site crashes or problems with web site functions.

Have you had web site problems on a tablet inthe last 12 months? If so, what types?

Base: Total sample (N=2033)Base: Those who experienced a problem (N=827)

NO59%

YES41%

TOTAL PROBLEMS — 41%

SLOW TO LOAD — 66%

CRASH / ERROR — 44%

POOR FUNCTION — 42%

FORMATTING — 40%

404 ERROR — 34%

Adobe Flash content does not function on a majority of tablets.

Organizations commonly deliver poor web experiences to their customers using tablets.

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Poor Web Experiences on Tablets Impact the Bottom Line

Customers expect transactions that are fast and work flawlessly. Failure to deliver quality web experiences to tablet users through slow or malfunctioning sites will result in lost business. Nearly half of tablet users would only retry a web site twice if it did not work initially, while 24 percent would retry it only once, and six percent would not retry it at all.

How many times would you retry a web site on your tablet?

6% 24% 46% 17% 7%Base: Total sample (N=2033)

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What if your site functions correctly, but its performance doesn’t meet expectations? Tablet users have no patience for slow sites; 49 percent of tablet users are less likely to visit a site again. It gets even worse for site owners: 46 percent of tablet users will go to a competitive web site, 35 percent are less likely to visit the web site on any platform and 33 percent are less likely to purchase from the company.

Problematic web site: What would you do?

49%

46%

35%

33%

28%

21%

16%

12%

Less likely to visit site again

Visit competitor’s site

Less likely to visit site on PC or mobile device

Less likely to purchase from that company

Have negative overall perception of that company

Tell others about poor web experience

Contact company’s customer service

Announce on social media

Base: Total sample (N=2033)

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Maximize Revenue and Engagement by Meeting Tablet Users’ Expectations

By every measure tablets are exploding. They are gaining momentum as a source of revenue and leads, and e-business professionals are paying attention as consumer adoption of mobile grows exponentially. However, companies need to understand how their customers access and use their sites in order to capitalize on every single interaction.

Organizations need to deliver tablet-optimized sites that not only adapt to the device on which they are accessed, but also the network used to connect to the web. While slow, high-latency mobile networks can make the delivery of quality web experiences seem difficult, some organizations — across the same networks and devices — deliver exceptional performance while others struggle.

Why does it matter if web sites are slow? Because web sites that are slow and don’t meet end-users’ web performance expectations will result in lost customers and revenue. Robert Hamilton from the Google Mobile team sums it up nicely: “This link between increased usage and a faster user experience — be it search or mobile Gmail — reinforces something we at Google have known for a long time: fast is better than slow.”14

Delivering highquality, fast webcontent to tabletusers is dif�cult

WiFiCable 3G

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Mbp

s

Download Mbps Upload Mbps

ms

Latency ms

20.131.9

138.5

5.2544.975

0.8005

27.516

15.23

1.0357

Different networks offer different experiences

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Some organizations have caught on to this. For example, eBay has publicly touted a “tablet-optimized site” that is built with speed and a better web experience in mind. It is interesting to note that eBay also expects $8 billion in mobile sales in 2012. If organizations want to maximize the tablet opportunity they must deliver fast, quality web experiences to their mobile customers.15

To learn more about how to improve web performance for tablet users, download this white paper: Five Ways To Optimize Mobile Web Site Performance with Page Speed.

Leading organizations across industries are tailoring web experiences to tablet users to maximize revenue and minimize cost.

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Global Usage of Tablets

English - U.S.

English - U.K.

English - India

Germany

France

Japan

Total English - 70%

50%

10%

10%

10%

10%

10%

Base: Total sample (N=2033)

Survey MethodologyCompuware commissioned Equation Research to conduct an online study to understand the web experience expectations of tablet users. Interviews were conducted from January 5-16, 2012. Survey results may have a margin of error of plus or minus two percent at a 95 percent level of confidence.

The survey sample equals 2,033 total respondents (1,010 in the U.S., 206 in Japan, 203 in the U.K., 206 in Germany, 207 in France and 201 in India) who:

• own a tablet

• have used their tablet in the past six months to access/surf the Internet.

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Survey Population

Who uses tablets?

52%MEN

48%WOMEN

Income

< 50k

50-90k

100k+

32%

44%

24%

Age

3% 31% 44% 23%

< 21 21 – 34 35 – 54 55+

Gender

iPad / iPad 2 Blackberry PlaybookKindle FireSamsung Galaxy Tab Other

What Kind of Tablet Do You Use?

64% 33% 14% 9% 4%

Base: Total sample (N=2033)

QS4. Which type of tablet do you own (please select all that apply)?

QS5. For the majority of the time how is your tablet connected to the Internet?

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Resources

1. http://www.morganstanley.com/institutional/techresearch/pdfs/Internet_Trends_041210.pdf

2. Apple earnings

3. http://mobilenow.yankeegroup.com/articles/15318/tablet-sales-will-reach-250-million-worldwide-by-2/

4. http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/software-technology/11912.html

5. http://forrester.com/rb/Research/why_tablet_commerce_may_soon_trump_mobile/q/id/59096/t/2

6. http://success.adobe.com/en/na/programs/digital-marketing-insights.html

7. http://googlemobileads.blogspot.com/2011/09/holiday-retail-mobile-insights.html

8. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204422404576597141076634146.html

9. http://googlemobileads.blogspot.com/2012/02/sweet-sound-of-success.html

10. http://aboutus.ft.com/2011/11/18/ft-web-app-registers-one-million-users

11. http://mobilenow.yankeegroup.com/articles/66603/users-spend-the-most-of-their-tablet-time-surfing-/

12. http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2011/Digital_Omnivores

13. http://mashable.com/2011/04/06/site-speed/

14. http://googledata.org/google-mobile/fast-is-better-than-slow/

15. http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/software-technology/11912.html