As if Apple needed any more of a boost with its announcement of the new iPad 3, U.S. tablet sales have been surging as of late -- and only expect to continue. Between mid-December and mid-January, the percentage of U.S. adults who own a tablet jumped from 10 percent to 19 percent, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
E-reader ownership also nearly doubled from 10 percent to 19 percent during the same time period, and the percentage of Americans who own either a tablet, an e-reader or both went from 18 percent to 29 percent. The launch of lower-priced devices like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet in mid-November are credited with the surge in ownership.
Why it matters to your business: Tablet sales have not surpassed PC sales just yet, but they are likely to get there quicker than you (or many experts may have expected). So if you haven't yet developed a strategy for reaching your customers on tablets, an increasingly preferred method, it's time to start -- especially if your business is involved in e-commerce in any way. Consider developing an app, and if you don't yet have the resources to build one, at least ensure that your website is as tablet-optimized as possible.