It is amazing that we are exposed to so many different devices that do just about the same thing, yet we use each device differently. Therefore, each device drives different results from a marketing standpoint.
Many will assume that smartphones would generate the highest click-through rate because well, we’re on our phones all day. That is not the case though. Tablet impressions actually generated higher click-through rates in Q3 of 2017 than any other device, according to the Drawbridge Q1 2017 Cross-Device Advertising Benchmark Report. See the report here.
From July 1 to September 30, Drawbridge served billions of impressions that they were then able to analyze and gain insight from. Desktop ads generated an overall CTR of 0.03%, smartphone drove 0.49% and tablets saw a whopping 1.13% CTR. 
The way people use different devices has a lot to do with this. The reason tablets see more success with conversions and CTR is because people use their tablets when they’re in the mood to shop. Point blank. At the end of the day, your work is done and you sit down on the couch to watch TV, and you pick up that tablet to browse the internet and social media. There is no specific goal when it comes to tablet browsing at the end of the day. It’s that carefree time when people can relax. That relaxation drives people to dive deeper into things they normally wouldn’t – generating a higher CTR than other devices.
Not only did tablets generate the highest CTRs, tablets generated the highest CTRs for every industry from Telecom to Retail, all the way to health and fitness. “Tablets are not replacing desktop, which was once predicted,” said Brian Ferrario, Vice President of Marketing at Drawbridge. “If anything tablets are merging with phones. Every device is becoming mobile, and the trick is to be present when the consumer is.”
Click-through rates for tablets have only been increasing. This means that if you currently disregard tablets in your marketing, you might want to think again. The good news is Facebook and Google automatically account for tablets when targeting mobile devices, meaning you shouldn’t have to do more work to get your ads to tablets.
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