1 in 4 to shop tablets for back to school

TechBargains reports more back to school shoppers will be shopping online this year. Added to that, many will be looking for tablet deals. One in four, researchers say, will buy tablets while 28% will look to laptops for their tech-gear buys; 23% report they'll buy a smartphone.

"Surveyed consumers tell us they anticipate [spending] more money on electronics and computers this year because tech gadgets have become increasingly critical to the learning process," said Yung Trang, president and editor-in-chief of TechBargains.

As for which devices are hot on consumers' lists, Apple's iPad ranks as the most sought after tablet (37% plan to buy), followed by the Google Nexus (22%) and Kindle Fire (14%). But PCs still out-rank Macs as the most sought after computers at a rate of 75% to 25%.

According to comScore, Q2 saw online spending increase 15% to reach more than $43 billion. The National Retail Federation suggests back to school spending (K-12 and college) will surpass $83 billion.

"It's evident that there are plenty 'last minute shoppers' this year and for retailers these next two weeks are of utmost importance when it comes to attracting families who still have apparel, electronics and school supplies to stock up on," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. "Given how much of an impact the economy is having on consumers' buying decisions, retailers will remain competitive up through the final sale after Labor Day, rolling out web, in-store and even mobile promotions to entice children and their parents."

The NRF reports back to school shoppers still have about half of their lists to complete.

Tags: ecommerce trends, National Retail Federation, tablet purchases, tablet trends, TechBargains

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