How People Use Tablets in Bedrooms and Bathrooms

With nearly one-third of all Americans now owning a tablet or e-reader, Valentine’s Day romantics should take note. A new Tablet Trends Study released by interactive agency Rosetta reveals that the majority of tablet users (68%) will likely spend significant time with their touch-screen devices in the bedroom.

At the potential expense of their significant others, consumers are enjoying their own private “honeymoon” with their tablets for the first few months as they get to know their new devices in some untraditional rooms in the home, including 24% who take their tablets to the bathroom. The findings were released today, Feb.13.

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In addition to these findings, the Tablet Trends Study also unveils important key learnings for marketers about where and how tablets are being used over time.

For brands that understand these new behaviors and adapt engagement strategies to follow usage patterns, their investment and effort to reach consumers on connected devices will be far more effective. Marketers beware, says Rosetta, as the rules are changing for where and how to reach consumers on connected devices:

Capitalize on the honeymoon period. When the device is new, consumers tend to explore the full range of capabilities offered by tablets, from buying applications to creating documents, to shopping.

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After six months or more of ownership, a clearer pattern emerges as certain usages drop off and they continue to more actively use their tablets for things like reading or checking email, watching TV or movies, reading e-books, magazines or newspapers, and using social networking sites. Brands who understand this timeline can market more effectively during different stages.

Keep the spark alive. Those who have owned their tablets for seven months or longer are more likely to prefer using a computer for many of the activities that they have previously explored during the honeymoon period.

The opportunity for marketers is to give consumers more reasons to fall in love with their tablets over and over again, and to find the right intersection points between the tablet, computer and even smartphone usage as behaviors shift over time.

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Timing is everything. Targeting customers on their tablets with the right message or experience at the right moment is critical for brands to sell more apps, products, services and accessories. Understanding how, where and why consumers are using their devices deepens the ‘can’t-live-without-you’ connection.

“Like in any relationship, the pressure is on to keep consumers engaged and happy with their tablets beyond that initial infatuation period,” said Jay Lichtenstein, a Partner in Rosetta’s Consulting Practice.

Rosetta, an independent brand in the Publicis Groupe of global agencies, is headquartered in Princeton, NJ, with additional offices in New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Toronto, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles and Orange County.