wraggster
November 20th, 2013, 23:17
Sales of tablets in Western Europe more than doubled year-on-year in the first half of 2013, according to research firm Context, and the ever-popular mobile devices are set to once again become the top-sellers this Christmas.
But can they match the heights of last year, when during December they outsold laptops by around four to one?
“There is little doubt that consumers with money to spend on technology are choosing the form factor they have yet to acquire – namely a tablet,” comments Alex Tatham, sales and marketing director at Westcoast.
Nikhil Gohil, category manager at Staples, adds: “We certainly expect sales to peak significantly leading up to the Christmas period.”
Mark Hosgood, category manager for tablets, e-readers and projectors at Currys and PC World agrees with the prediction, saying: “We expect tablets to be just as popular this year as last year possibly even more given the amount of great products available.”
Adam Brown, tablets and telecoms buyer at John Lewis, is confident the retailer will see a lot of demand for tablets: “This year we’re going to have seen every big brand refresh their product line ready for Christmas, so I think this Christmas will see good growth versus last year.
“We’re certainly expecting a lot of demand – we’re forecasting to sell one tablet every 15 seconds over the Christmas period.”
Tesco recently launched its first own-branded tablet, the Hudl, and while many may have instantly groaned at the thought of a supermarket releasing a mobile device, it turns out the Hudl isn’t the low-spec budget tablet that its £119 price tag suggests.
While being less than half the price of an iPad Mini, the Hudl has a higher screen resolution, packing a 1440x900 pixel screen compared to the iPad Mini’s 1024x768. Coming in four different colours, some could argue it has the ability to appeal to a wider audience than just monochrome fans – something that Apple itself has addressed with the release of the iPhone 5S.
http://www.tesco.com/direct/hudl/
But can they match the heights of last year, when during December they outsold laptops by around four to one?
“There is little doubt that consumers with money to spend on technology are choosing the form factor they have yet to acquire – namely a tablet,” comments Alex Tatham, sales and marketing director at Westcoast.
Nikhil Gohil, category manager at Staples, adds: “We certainly expect sales to peak significantly leading up to the Christmas period.”
Mark Hosgood, category manager for tablets, e-readers and projectors at Currys and PC World agrees with the prediction, saying: “We expect tablets to be just as popular this year as last year possibly even more given the amount of great products available.”
Adam Brown, tablets and telecoms buyer at John Lewis, is confident the retailer will see a lot of demand for tablets: “This year we’re going to have seen every big brand refresh their product line ready for Christmas, so I think this Christmas will see good growth versus last year.
“We’re certainly expecting a lot of demand – we’re forecasting to sell one tablet every 15 seconds over the Christmas period.”
Tesco recently launched its first own-branded tablet, the Hudl, and while many may have instantly groaned at the thought of a supermarket releasing a mobile device, it turns out the Hudl isn’t the low-spec budget tablet that its £119 price tag suggests.
While being less than half the price of an iPad Mini, the Hudl has a higher screen resolution, packing a 1440x900 pixel screen compared to the iPad Mini’s 1024x768. Coming in four different colours, some could argue it has the ability to appeal to a wider audience than just monochrome fans – something that Apple itself has addressed with the release of the iPhone 5S.
http://www.tesco.com/direct/hudl/