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

2. Introduction
Mobile 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.
iPad Unit Sales (in millions) Across 90 Countries
iPad Sales Cumulative iPad Sales
FISCAL QUARTERS
Q3 2010 Q4 2010 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012
55.28
39.85
28.73
19.48 15.43
14.79
11.12
7.46 9.25
7.33
4.19 4.69
3.27 3.27
Source: Apple quarterly earnings reports
Apple iPad sales are rapidly increasing. 2
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 2

3. 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
AOV Calendar 2011
$80 $102 $123
Smartphone Traditional Tablet
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.
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 3

4. 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
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 4

5. 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.
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 5

6. 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?
32%
24%
20%
13%
11%
1 second 1 second 2 seconds 3 seconds ≥ 4 seconds
2 SECONDS
MEDIAN EXPECTED LOAD TIME
Base: Total sample (N=2033)
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 6

7. 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 a
web site load on your tablet?
42%
28%
21%
8%
2%
Much slower Somewhat slower Almost as fast Equal Faster
« slower faster »
Base: Total sample (N=2033)
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 7

8. Web site Issues Are Common For Tablet
Adobe Flash content Users
does not function on a
majority of tablets. 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 in
the last 12 months? If so, what types?
TOTAL PROBLEMS — 41%
SLOW TO LOAD — 66%
YES CRASH / ERROR — 44%
Organizations commonly 41%
deliver poor web
experiences to their
customers using tablets.
NO POOR FUNCTION — 42%
59 %
FORMATTING — 40%
404 ERROR — 34%
Base: Total sample (N=2033)
Base: Those who experienced a problem (N=827)
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 8

9. 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)
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 9

10. 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?
Less likely to visit site again 49%
Visit competitor’s site 46%
Less likely to visit site on PC or mobile device 35%
Less likely to purchase from that company 33%
Have negative overall perception of that company 28%
Tell others about poor web experience 21%
Contact company’s customer service 16%
Announce on social media 12%
Base: Total sample (N=2033)
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 10

11. 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 high 30 27.516 160
quality fast web
, 25
140 138.5
120
content to tablet 20
100
users is difficult
Mbps
ms
15.23
15 80
60
10
Cable WiFi 3G
5.254 40 31.9
4.975
5 20.1
1.0357
20
0.8005
Different networks offer different experiences 0 0
Download Mbps Upload Mbps Latency ms
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 11

12. 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.
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 12

13. Survey Methodology
Compuware 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.
Global Usage of Tablets
Total English - 70%
10% 10%
English - U.S.
10%
English - U.K.
English - India
10%
Germany
50%
10%
France
Japan
Base: Total sample (N=2033)
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 13

14. Survey Population
Who uses tablets?
Age
3% 31% 44% 23%
21 21 – 34 35 – 54 55+
Gender Income
100k+ 24%
52% 48% 50-90k 44%
MEN WOMEN
50k 32%
What Kind of Tablet Do You Use?
iPad / iPad 2 Samsung Galaxy Tab Kindle Fire Blackberry Playbook Other
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?
Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect From Web Sites | 14

15. 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/SB1000142405297020442240457659714107663
4146.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
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