New figures from Rimm-Kaufman Group (RKG) show Apple’s iPad with a commanding 88% share of tablet ad traffic with Kindle Fire in second place at around 4%. The market data analysis firm says Kindle Fire actually dipped to 3.5% by the end of January after reaching 4% of traffic by the end of December, 2011.
But the report also shows Kindle Fire ranked poorly compared to other Android tablets in terms of revenue generated per click (RPC) and even trails Apple’s iPhone. The report shows RPC for the Fire was 83% lower than desktops and 84% lower than the iPad.
Among other reasons, RKG believes the iPad is faring much better in RPC is because it attracts users with higher income bracket. Last year a comScore report found that about half of iPad owners make more than $100,000 a year.
Another factor is screen size -- the Kindle Fire has a 7-inch screen versus the iPad’s 10-inch (9.7-inch) display.
RKG’s Mark Ballard said in a blog post,
“It’s an old story at this point, but the tinier the screen on our device, the more challenging it is to go through an online checkout process. So, many users of smartphones may browse for products, but ultimately complete their purchases on a desktop.”
Ballard also said.
"Most of the other Android tablets in the report have a form factor similar to the iPad and, again, their higher conversion metrics may be evidence that smaller tablets simply convert worse.”
But he also notes Kindle Fire is likely helping to drive more users to buy at Amazon's online store, a key reason the online giant created the device.
iPad passes Mac in Web traffic
In a separate analysis, advertising data analytics firm Chitika also just released a report that shows Apple’s iOS devices have passed the Macintosh in terms of Web traffic in the U.S. Chitika said its report is based on an analysis of its Ad Network that covers hundreds of millions of ad impressions.
Chitika said.
“The data shows that the Web market shares of iOS and OS X have been converging steadily since August. iOS has been posting regular gains, and has experienced an overall growth of nearly 50%, whereas OS X has seen its market share decline by 25% since a high point in September. February marks the first point where a reversal in position can be seen in the respective operating systems. iOS passes Mac OS with 8.15% of all Web traffic, whereas Mac OS only sees 7.96%.”
COMMENTARY: It's not fair to compare the Amazon Kindle Fire versus the Apple iPad at this point, because the iPad has been around now for nearly two years, while the Kindle Fire didn't begin shipping until November 14, 2011. Most of the Kindle Fire tablets were sold during the period between Black Friday and Christmas.
According to some analysts, Amazon sold between 5 to 6 million Kindle Fires in 2011. The original Apple iPad began regular shipments on April 10, 2010. The Apple iPad 2 began regular shipments on March 17, 2011. In a blog post dated January 25, 2012, I reported that Apple had sold a total 40.1 million iPads through the end of 2011. It's no contest based on shear numbers of tablets sold. Apple comes out on top, so it should be no surprise that the iPad wins the ad traffic clicking and revenue per click wars too. In the end these numbers mean absolutely nothing. Let's compare the iPad and Kindle Fire a year from now. Let's see who wins the ad clicking and revenue per click wars then.
I was surprised to hear that nearly 50% of iPad owners are classified as affluent. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 20% of Americans are classified as affluent or making $100,000 in income or more. This would place number of Americans making $100,000 at about 58.5 million. Roughly 20 million (50% of 40.1 million ipads) Apple iPad owners are classified as affluent. Therefore, roughly one-third of the U.S. affluent demographic now own iPads. That's a pretty hefty adoption rate for an Apple product that has only been available in the marketplace about two years. How many more affluent Americans are likely to buy an iPad? It begs the question whether the number of affluent Apple iPad owners is quickly reaching a peak.
Courtesy of an article dated February 10, 2012 appearing in TabTimes
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