Underscoring the growing opportunity for brands to reach tablet users, 56 percent of North American consumers said they are more apt to respond to a tablet ad than a laptop or desktop ad, according to a new report from Adroit.

The comprehensive report, "2014: Are Tablets Taking Over?," found that many households have become multi-tablet homes, with 43 percent of North American adults saying they have two or more tablets in their home. The report is based on a survey of North American adults who own a tablet and a computer that were asked about how they use their tablets and interact with digital advertising.

?Tablets can?t be marginalized as a side note in media spend,? said Glenn Humble, director of marketing at Adroit Digital, New York. ?Consumers are changing where they seek information and take action on other advertising channels like TV and magazines.

?Tablets can?t be seen as a standalone; they are clearly a part of the path to purchase or discovery,? he said. ?This proved out in 56 percent of our respondents who are very likely or somewhat more likely to respond to a tablet ad as opposed to a traditional online ad; 55 percent will use their tablet as opposed to their laptop to make a purchase or seek additional information for a product or service of interest from another advertising channel.?

Screen of choice
With 34 percent of American adults owning a tablet today and that number is expected to grow to 60 percent of online consumers by 2017.

This is opening a growing opportunity for brands to get in front of target audiences, as research shows an additional screen increase media consumption instead of cannibalizing it.

With tablets providing a unique function in everyday consumer life, it is important that advertisers do not view tablets as merely shrunken down PCs or overgrown smartphones and create campaigns specifically focused on tablets.

Key findings include that consumers love tablets, with 55 percent of respondents saying they would consider replacing a personal laptop or desktop with a tablet.

?[The most surprising finding was] the fact that more than half of the respondents would consider ditching/replacing their personal laptop/desktop for a tablet,? Mr. Humble said.

?Further research would be needed to explore the root cause of consumers' future consideration to replace a personal laptop, but from my perspective, tablets are a more desirable price point, they provide all the computing power needed for most personal use and they?re easily portable,? he said.

Path to purchase
Consumers are increasingly shifting tasks previously done on their laptop or desktop to their tablet, with 52 percent using their tablet to watch TV or video, both recorded and live, as opposed to their laptop or desktop.

Additionally, 50 percent said they use their tablet to look up production information and 48 percent use their tablet to research products and services as opposed to their laptop or desktop.

Online purchasing is also shifting to tablets, with men 53 percent more likely to make an impulse purchase on their tablet as opposed to their desktop or laptop compared to 29 percent for women.

Additionally, 55 percent of all North Americans said they are more likely to use their tablet, as opposed to their laptop or desktop, to make a purchase or seek additional information about an item they have seen advertised on TV or in a magazine.

Tablet power users
When it comes to tablet media consumption, women are leading the charge with 24 percent of women saying they spend two hours or more with their tablet everyday compared to 15 percent of men.

Overall, 54 percent use their tablet at least one hour every day.

There is also a group of power users, with 19 percent saying they use their tablet more than two hours every day.

Much of tablet use takes place in the evening, suggesting brands should run tablet campaigns at this time of day. The report found that 39 percent use their tablet most between 7 pm and 12 am.

?The tablet may not be the place to try and initially capture the consumer or create awareness, but the point to drive an action/purchase home,? Mr. Humble said.

?Many brands/marketers shy away from tablets because they can?t tie traditional digital success metrics to them,? he said.

?They need to understand where consumer needs are headed and develop metrics specific to tablet success or an apportionment of overall attribution and allocate media spend proportionately.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York