IDC: Forecast For Tablet Sales Down

The latest data from research firm IDC projects that tablet device sales for the next year will be lower than 2013 sales.

As reported by Mobile World, IDC research showed that approximately 245.4 million tablets will ship in 2014, which is a decrease from its previous forecast of 260.9 million units. This is a 12.1 percent year-on-year growth, however, it is lower than the 51.8 percent that occurred in 2013.

According to IDC, one potential reason for this decrease is that consumers are keeping devices longer than before – usually because of newly released tablets having higher prices. Additionally, when one shopper gets a new device, he or she is now more likely to give the old tablet to a family member. That then eliminates a potential new buyer, IDC said.

However, the phablet share of smartphone shipments has more than doubled to 10.5 percent in the first quarter of 2014 from 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2013.

“The shift back toward larger screens will mark a welcome sea-change for most vendors as the average selling price for these devices will remain roughly 50 percent higher than the average sub 8-inch device,” explained Jitesh Ubrani, a research analyst for the Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker at IDC.

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