Rise in couch surfing sales
THE RELATIONSHIP between watching television and online shopping is moving closer as tablet devices become the new “digital till”, a Deloitte report has revealed.
The study of 4,000 UK consumers showed that online shopping is one of the most popular activities among those who use the internet while watching TV, with 45 per cent of respondents partaking.
It also revealed that the same number of people plan to buy a new tablet computer as an HD television over the next year.
Over half the survey respondents browse the web while watching television, with only 22 per cent saying they never do – a drop from 2010, when 39 per cent of respondents never used the web and television at the same time.
Half of all the 18-24 year-olds surveyed has searched for and bought a new product after seeing it on television, revealed the study, and half of all female respondents who use the internet while watching TV said they are likely to visit shopping websites.
Jolyon Barker, global lead for technology, media and telecoms at Deloitte, said: “Television, via a programme or an advert, can provide the impulse for a purchase. This year more consumers will buy tablets, connected and browser-equipped devices, which can work as digital tills sitting on viewers’ laps.”
But he warned broadcasters against making TV programmes perceived as too overtly created to sell merchandise, as they could trigger a “viewer backlash”.