Tablet Commerce Expected to Explode in 2011 [STATS]

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However, the firm's research also indicates that while dedicated online retail sites, especially Amazon.com, experience huge year-over-year growth, the same can't be said for the social web when it comes to e-commerce. While there's been a lot of buzz around commerce on social platforms, including Facebook, most online retailers haven't seen great results from these networks.

Forrester half-jokingly coined the term "t-commerce" in the report section covering tablets and online retail. "In spite of the fact that the iPad was only introduced in the spring of 2010," its analysts write, "it immediately proved to be a formidable driver of traffic through mobile devices. Many retailers report that already half of what they consider to be mobile traffic is coming through tablet devices."

Forrester opines that the smaller form factor of smartphones make them a less-than-deal device for would-be mobile shoppers. And while smartphone traffic will continue to supplement web-based online retail, Forrester says, "Tablet devices, on the other hand, will grow by capturing share from traditional PC web traffic by untethering shoppers from their desktops, enabling easy browsing in a living room, during a bus commute to work, or at an airport."

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The negative news in Forrester's report is that "social commerce" just isn't taking off. The firm says that since late 2008 or early 2009, its research has shown that many or most major retailers have taken pains to establish social media presences. But to date, few of these retailers, less than 40%, have been able to "quantify the return on this investment, and even fewer have found that social networks grow their business." Around 28% said that social media strategies have helped them grow their business in any tangible way.

"To the degree that retailers find any benefit at all from social strategies," the report reads, "it is most frequently driven by tactics like ratings and reviews on a website rather than activities on social networks... Social networks, in fact, ranked dead last on a list of 10 customer acquisition tactics."

Given this and other data, online retailers are encouraged to place less emphasis on social media sales and optimize for high performance and conversion on tablets.

In the comments, let us know about your own experience in this area of research: Have you bought a product from a company's social media page or profile? How about on a tablet?