Local Retailer Braces for Tablet Craze

Olivia Wolfe loves to plan.

The Columbia native has long relied on her planner to schedule appointments and meetings, but expects to transition her daily agenda when she and her husband, Andrew, purchase an Asus Transformer Prime tablet as a mutual gift this holiday season.

"I love my planner to death and may continue using one, but it will be nice, even in the grocery store to literally pull out this skinny, thin thing and be able to tap it and say, 'Oh, that’s right, I'm supposed to get that,'" Wolfe said.

Wolfe and her husband, along with millions of others, are diving into the tablet craze this holiday shopping season. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) estimates that 26.6 million tablets will be sold to retail outlets this year, a 157 percent increase in sales from the 10.3 million sold in 2010.

Bobby Sainteus, digital technology chief and supervisor of Best Buy in College Park, said the store anticipates an increased demand for tablets.

"We expect it partially due to the competitive price matching provided by Best Buy, as long as the tablet is not on sale at the [competitor's] store," Sainteus said. "Also, one of our company's goals is to always keep them in stock."

Sainteus said that while some consumers are looking for a laptop alternative, many realize that a tablet is not an exact replacement for a personal computer.

"When it comes to other solutions that you would use a computer for, people are still looking for that, but most clients are interested in tablets in general," Sainteus said.

CEA spokesman Steve Kidera said the versatility of tablets is a key factor for consumers debating whether to buy.

"I think of smartphones as the 'Swiss Army knife of electronics,' but tablets are right on their heels, because they can do just about anything anywhere,” Kidera said. "When you factor in all the apps and everything else that it can do, it really is a very convenient user experience.”

Kidera said the forecast for tablet sales in 2012 will jump to 34.8 million units sold to retailers, which is roughly equivalent to the number of televisions expected to be sold next year.

Although the tablet holds the title of "hot" electronic item this holiday shopping season, they are not the only item flying off the shelves. Smartphones and E-readers are becoming more popular, and traditional electronics like televisions, digital cameras and MP3 players, are “must haves,” Kidera said.

"Our research shows that, behind clothes, electronics are the second most wanted gift," Kidera said. "Consumers will be spending more of their overall gift budget on electronics this year than they ever have."

Sainteus said Best Buy has had an increase in sales of tablet accessories, specifically docking station keyboards and external display adapters, in large part because the product line is so new.

As Wolfe and her husband look forward to taking part in the tablet craze, she admitted that they have no loyalties when it comes to where they make their purchase.

"We will definitely go play with it at a store first," Wolfe said. "However, we will wait to see who has the best sale before we actually buy it."