Electrical retailers may wish to gear up their marketing campaigns and promotional labels to showcase their best tablet computers after it was revealed that many shoppers are planning to buy one.

A survey by Shopzilla discovered that six per cent of people in Europe currently own such a device, while 20 per cent intend to purchase something like an Apple iPad or BlackBerry PlayBook in the next 12 months.

This mirrors the trend for uptake in the US, with 12 per cent of citizens there reporting that they now own a tablet.

It was found that the iPad was the most popular form of the device, suggesting more promotional labels may be in order for this and other types over the next few months.

However, retailers may have to work hard to keep customers returning to their stores after the purchase of tablets, as a previous survey by Shopzilla discovered that Britons like to shop online on them while watching the television.

Denny Bros Ltd, 28 June 2011