Chitika: iPad tablet Web traffic share plummets over holidays

January 3, 2013 | By Jason Ankeny

Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad experienced a sharp decline in Web traffic market share during the days immediately following the Christmas holiday according to data compiled by digital advertising network Chitika. The firm also reported gains for rival Android-powered tablets like Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle Fire and Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Tab.

After comparing North American Web traffic data before and after Christmas Day 2012, Chitika reports that the iPad experienced a 7.1 percent decline in usage share, slipping from 86 percent in the pre-holiday period to 78.9 percent following the holiday. The Kindle Fire increased 3 percent during the same timeframe to account for 7.5 percent of post-holiday tablet Web share, followed by the Galaxy Tab at 4.4 percent (a 1.4 percent gain). Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Nexus is next at 2 percent, up 0.9 percent, trailed by the Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Surface at 0.4 percent (a 0.2 percent gain).

"Despite the gains by competitors, we expect that the iPad's share of tablet traffic will return to the 80 percent range, albeit lower than pre-holiday levels, as users return from vacation and browse with their new devices less frequently," Chitika said.

Shifting the focus to smartphones, Apple's iPhone 5 enjoyed the biggest jump, increasing its Web usage share 1.1 percent to 8.27 percent. Samsung's Galaxy S III is next at 1 percent and now accounts for 4.3 percent of usage, ahead of the device maker's Galaxy Note at 1.02 percent (a 0.2 percent increase) and Google's Nexus 4 at 0.06 percent (a 0.02 percent gain).

For more:
- read this Chitika Insights blog entry