Australians are placing more orders for online gear and content using smartphones and tablets than ever before claims JB Hi Fi.The increase in mobile purchases during the first five months of 2012 comes as researchers claim the watching of video content on portable devices is also climbing.
J.D. Power and Associates claim that up to 29% of consumers watch paid content on a handheld device, at the same time viewing on notebooks and desktop computers has declined to 39% from 48% in 2011 .
The research Company said that tablets are proving the most popular device for viewing video content.
The study revealed 18% of consumers use tablets for viewing paid video content, up from 11% a year ago. Smartphones were used by 16% of consumers to watch video, this was up from 14% in 2011.
The study also notes that nearly one-fourth (23%) of customers view paid content via gaming consoles, compared to those who view paid content via handheld devices (29%).
Overall gaming consoles continue to be a high usage device when viewing video — 6.3 hours per week — compared with 5.3 hours on a laptop/desktop, 4.9 hours on a wireless phone, 4.5 hours on a music player, and 4.4 hours on a tablet.
“These findings illustrate that while customers appreciate the convenience and value that gaming consoles provide, the TV screen is still a preferred viewing media,” stated Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power and Associates.
“On the other hand, average viewing times for mobile devices and computers are likely impacted by battery life and screen size,” he noted.
Scott Browing Marketing Director at JB Hi Fi said that orders from mobile devices was up and that consumers were now moving to buy content subscriptions from sites like JB Hi’s Music Now store.
