Maritz Research (http://www.MaritzResearch.com) has announces the results of its Maritz Holiday Tablet Poll, designed and analyzed using Maritz’ DecisionVue 360 research methodology.
The poll projects tablet purchases over the next three months (December 2011 through February 2012) will be approximately 10% higher than the past three months. While a majority of tablet consumers have purchased an iPad in the last three months, there are only 16% of buyers who entered the market with solely an Apple tablet in mind.
For the first time, the study identifies four key buyer segments in the overall tablet market: single-minded (21%), tablet-committed (44%), newcomers (13%) and low-end tablet buyers (22%). Single-minded buyers are “individuals who really want to buy an Apple tablet.”
Tablet-committed buyers are committed to buying a tablet but is undecided on a brand. These buyers are aware of three or more brands while entering the purchase cycle and are willing to consider brands other than the iPad; however, 58% of these consumers end up buying an iPad.
Newcomers may know a few tablet brands in the market but don’t have familiarity or affinity toward any one in particular. Among this group, 58% prefer/buy an iPad, but they take longer to make a decision to buy, with only 28% purchasing within two weeks.
Low-end buyers want to spend less than $250 on their purchase. They have given rise to the low-end tablet market and are focused on the price tag and the entertainment value that tablets deliver. This segment is dominated by the Amazon Kindle Fire, which enjoys a share of 45% of this market.