Global awareness of tablets and e-readers rising fast
By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 23 March 2011, 10:01 IST
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Global awareness of tablets and e-readers rising fast
New York: The global awareness of tablets and e-readers is rising fast and consumers around the world are prepared to buy these devices, especially if prices come down. According to a BCG survey of more than 14,000 consumers in 16 markets including China, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S., the initial consumer interest in these devices, which reached a crescendo in April 2010 with the release of Apple's iPad, remains strong. Apple sold 3 million iPads in the U.S. in the first 80 days after its release. "This survey confirms that tablets and e-readers are set to rapidly become the next must-have device," said Dominic Field, a BCG partner and U.S. leader of the firm?s media practice. "The focus, therefore, will rapidly shift to key questions around who will win and how much value will be created or destroyed in the process." Two-thirds or 67 percent of all U.S. consumers were familiar with tablets and e-readers in December 2010, when the survey was conducted, up from 54 percent in March 2010, when BCG conducted a similar survey. In China, some 73 percent were familiar with these devices - the highest of any of the markets in the survey. In the U.K., the figure was 59 percent - up 16 percent, the biggest jump in awareness of any market. The intent to purchase the device remains strong worldwide with 69 percent of consumers who are already familiar with tablets and e-readers are planning to purchase one of these devices in the next three years, down only slightly from 73 percent in the March 2010 survey. In the U.S., 50 percent of consumers familiar with these devices plan to buy a tablet or an e-reader in the next year, up 3 percentage points since March. Interestingly consumers are still willing to pay tablet prices similar to the amounts they were willing to pay in March, especially in Europe. Consumers in Italy, for example are willing to spend up to $330 for a tablet. In Germany, the upper limit is about $260, and in the U.S., about $200. While these amounts are below the $499 entry price of an iPad, they suggest where tablets could be selling in a year or so if prices fall in line with the price declines of other consumer-electronics products. For single-purpose e-readers, U.S. consumers are willing to spend up to $130, which is only slightly less than the $139 entry-level Kindle from Amazon. The larger issue for single-purpose e-readers is whether they can compete successfully against the multipurpose tablets. In the global survey, 53 percent of respondents said they would want to buy a tablet, while only 15 percent said they wanted an e-reader. Globally, 84 percent want to be able to read e-mail on these devices, while 85 percent want to be able to browse online content, and 69 percent want to view videos. The survey offers hope for publishers and other content owners that view tablets as an opportunity to create digital revenue streams. Consumers are willing to pay about the same amount for digital content presented on tablets as they were in March 2009. U.S. consumers are willing to spend $5 to $10 for a digital book, $3 to $6 for a monthly magazine subscription, and $5 to $10 for a monthly newspaper subscription. These price levels are sufficiently encouraging to give content owners confidence that their digital investments will pay dividends.

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