Dive Brief:

• The number of consumers who say they prefer to shop on their tablets has risen four times faster than the number who prefer their smartphones, according to a study by web retailer Rakuten.

• While the increase of tablet preference is outpacing that for phones, more consumers (6.8%) still prefer to use their phones, compared to 6.1% who prefer their tablets.

• Worldwide, a whopping 81.8% of shoppers still prefer to use computers for their online shopping.

Dive Insight:

Since Apple launched its iPad in 2010, tablets have proliferated. Now online marketplace Rakuten is finding that shopping on a tablet is close to outpacing shopping on a phone. Still, the computer reigns supreme. What this means for retailers is that successful e-commerce depends on apps and sites that are agile enough to perform well on all devices.