European consumers born in or before 1980 are most likely to use tablets to shop and book travel, according to new research.
Young adults shun ‘costly’ tablets for travel, finds PhoCusWright
European consumers born in or before 1980 are most likely to use tablets to shop and book travel, according to new research.
The PhoCusWright European Traveller survey for 2014 suggests ‘Millennials’, born after 1981, may be the strongest adopters of new technology but they are not when it comes to iPads and Galaxy Tabs.
The PhoCusWright research found tablet ownership peaked among 35 to 44-year-old online travel planners in France (54%) and the UK (55%), and among 45 to 54-year-olds in Germany (45%).
Adults in these age groups tend to have more disposible income and are most likely to invest in more expense devices.
Younger adults are shunning tablets when it comes to travel, not because they don’t fancy the shape, size or functionality, but because they have already spent their money buying smartphones and laptops.
Tablets also offer older, less tech-savvy consumers a more familiar online experience as they better replicate PC functionality with larger screens, multi-window web browsing and keyboard attachments.
PhoCusWright senior consumer research analyst Marcello Gasdia said: “It’s important to keep track of who’s using what during this multi-device pandemonium because device-adoption patterns have a huge impact on online holiday shopping behaviour.
“We’re seeing tablet adoption soar among older consumers in Europe, and the devices are huge shopping channels for the age group.”
The PhoCusWright study found PCs still dominate the online travel, search-shop-buy process across all age groups.
More than 70% of European online travel planners rely on a PC to research destinations, shop for travel products and book.
