Few Android tablets reaching consumers in developed markets

The majority of Android tablets shipped in the US and Europe fail to find their way into the hands of consumers and are barely used if they do, a study has found.

 

Recent shipment figured show that Apple’s share of shipped tablets has dropped to an all time low.
According to the latest figures from Trendforce, iPads accounted for just 35.5 per cent of all tablets manufactured in the second quarter of this year.
However, figures released by US advertising network Chitika this month found that iPads account for 84.3 per cent of all tablets accessing the internet.
That figure is actually up 1.9 per cent, despite a fall in the share of tablets shipped.
Noting the discrepancy, Benedict Evans, a strategic consultant for Enders Analysis took a deeper look at where those Android tablets were ending up.

According to Evans, there are three explanations for the wide gap between Android shipments and Android usage patterns.
The first possibility is that the vast majority of them that are being bought, are being purchased in emerging markets and are accessing the internet, but not the western sites that track device usage.
The second is that they are being used in developed markets, but for one reason or another, they are being used rarely or not at all.
The third, he states, is that they are being bought and not used to access the internet. He gives examples of them being used as kid’s toys or as cheap point of sale devices.
Evans believes that “the truth is probably a mix of the three” and that “the tiny share of Nexus sales suggests that people buying these tablets are much less interested in a good experience than the lowest possible price”.
That is a fact borne out by the latest shipment figures. They reveal that white-label Android tablet makers – which tend to focus on the hyper-price sensitive end of the market – have seen their shipment figures climb to 23.5 per cent of the market. That is higher even than Samsung, which account for 21.5 per cent of tablet shipments.
It is also unclear exactly how many tablets are currently sat gathering dust in distributor and retailer warehouses.
Retail sources speaking to T3 indicated that the iPad tends to have a solid sell through rate (those tablets shipped in are almost always sold within a week or two of them arriving).
The story with Android tablets on the other hand is mixed.
Some, such as the Kindle Fire have done very well compared to others – a figure reflected in its position as the most used Android tablet with 5.7 per cent share of tablet web usage.
Others, our sources who work for some of the UK’s largest retailers told us, arrive in and never sell. Ultimately, they are returned to the tablet maker for a refund.