The once high-flying tablet market has taken a tumble. Sales growth, which stood at 52% in 2012, fell to less than 10% in 2013 and 2014, and then the market contracted in 2015 and 2016. This Report provides guidance for marketers facing significant headwinds as consumers shift to larger and newer mobile phones, and as latent demand to upgrade laptops emerges as a competing factor for tablet sales.

Qualitative and quantitative work conducted for this Report include current ownership, interest in owning multiple tablets, intent to purchase, how tablets are used, as well as how consumer tastes in tablets are shifting. Substantial weight in both qualitative and quantitative studies is given to consumer interest in the relatively new sector of hybrid laptop/tablets, as well as to how larger screen tablets emerging as an arena for growth.

For the purposes of this Report, tablets are defined as portable computers with a touchscreen user interface but which lack a direct calling feature through a cellular provider. Hybrid products consist of tablets that include a foldaway or are marketed on the basis of being most useful via the inclusion or separate purchase of a detachable keyboard. The focus of the Report is on ownership and purchasing behavior among adults, inclusive of purchases made by adults on behalf of children.

This Report builds upon research conducted for Mintel’s Tablets – US, November 2015.