History on the digital frontier is once again churning its virtual wheels. Desktop computers have always been large, heavy, slow and troublesome in function, much like that overheating domestic oil burning four door family car.
The new era of technology is on the verge of exploding, as the Tablet PCs are just gearing up and gathering steam. Tablet sales are continuing to rise, and it’s expected that the majority will begin replacing their desktop PC and even their laptop to a slick Tablet in the next few years.
What this does is it presents an excellent opportunity for marketers and online retailers to take advantage of this as the statistics prove over half of the Tablet owners have already made some type of online purchase using their devices. The new name for this is known as t-commerce, and it’s beginning to take off. So it’s time to get on the runway and get on-board.
All The Answers Point To Tablets
When online marketers are now working to actively design their mobile strategies, the topic regarding, “So what about those Tablets boss” invariably comes up. The question arises whether to offer all these tablet owners a mobile or a desktop web experience.
The answer actually lies somewhere in between as tablets now rightfully warrants their own unique experience. This regardless whether it’s an actual construction of a site or an app.
Online shopping when it comes to the much larger tablet is different from shopping on any other device such as the much smaller smartphone or an usually immovable desktop PC.
Consumers are using as well as loving their tablets because these devices are able to provide a much better “touch” experience. They provide an interface which makes it easier to browse the Internet without having to constantly zoom in when using a smartphone, or being tied down at home using a desktop PC.
What these tablets are able to do is essentially close the gap between the bulky stationary PC and the much smaller smartphone. So what they create is a personalized context sensitive experience regardless of where one is using their tablet.
Tablets are able to effectively merge the best features offered by the two platforms by their larger screens and their location and context sensitive awareness. This makes surfing on the Net as well as purchasing products a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable. Tablet users are able to find related products based on purchasing history or search for instance, unlike the smaller screens of the smartphones.
Tablets As An eCommerce Device
The higher end luxury based retailers are already acting as well as capitalizing on the tablet platform by they creating individualized and tailored experiences for their users. They’re making their products and services available by using this channel and then developing additional detailed based context around their offerings.
The “Look Book” for instance, is an unique method on how retailers are able to push more relevant editorial content for their consumers using a Tab. Because of the larger screens, the users are able to view in much better and bigger detail a complete developed “look” of an image which is not possible on a smartphone.
Keep in mind that the smartphones will continue to play a key role when it comes to ecommerce, but the tablets are slowly beginning to overtake the traffic which was traditionally reserved for the desktop computers or laptops.
Tablets Are The Ideal Online Marketing Sales Tool
Enterprises who are experts in branding are beginning to increase their tablet marketing strategies. Marketers as well as “brick and mortar” merchants are also starting to leverage the increasing popularity of these devices for clientèle services and building loyalty by supplying their sales forces with tablets directly in their stores. These employees for instance, now have access in real time to a customers entire purchase history as well as their brand preferences.
Retailers who are arming their personnel with these types of tools are able to redefine customer relationships by they improving what each individual consumer likes, dislikes and are wanting. This will ultimately drive towards better relationships with their customers, enabling up-sell as well as cross-selling opportunities based on their known preferences.
Tablets can also expedite the stocking as well as the checkout process, as all the consumer is now required to do is simply approach any store associate armed with a tablet to instantly complete their purchase. Apple is already taking advantage of this as their retail stores gives each of their sales staff an iPad to provide product information for their in-store customers, facilitate and then quicken the payment process.
Tablets Beyond Being A Sales Tools
Tablets are expected to go beyond being just a sales tool in the near future. On the horizon are “virtual fitting rooms,” which will enable customers to take a picture of a piece of clothing for instance, and then uploading it to their tablet. The customer is then able to test a variety of outfits and fabric/color combinations online, without physical having to go to the store.
Augmented reality technology allows consumers to hold a tablet over their wrist to view how a wrist watch looks on their arm is another example. This can be a piece of jewelry as well. The early adopters of these technologies are already leveraging these methods, but realistically, they are still a couple years away from going mainstream in the marketplace.
So when marketers and merchants are developing their mobile strategy, it’s important to treat the tablet as something completely different. It’s important to research as well as understand their particular user audience, and then plan and tailor accordingly.
It’s important to find out when, where and why these tablet users are accessing their sites, and then tracking their activity. If you’re beginning to see a lot more visitors from tablets on your site, then it’s definitely worthwhile to begin implementing a plan to supply a more customized user experience for these users.