Tablets to power over $120bn in retail revs by 2016

Operators to receive just a 30 per cent share.

Tablet sales are continuing to grow. iPad sales from Q4 2010 to Q4 2011 more than doubled to reach 15.4 million, while Android shipped 27m devices in the fourth quarter.

Comms strategist Informa Telecoms & Media says the market is set to grow significantly in the next five years, as retail revenues from tablet sales grow from $34.5 billion in 2011 to $121.5 billion in 2016.

Independent retailers such as Carphone Warehouse and Amazon are poised to eat into operator shares as consumers prefer to buy the device without a data plan attached, according to the report.

Additionally, independent retailers share of smartphone retail revenues are set to grow from 29 per cent in 2011 to 34 per cent in 2016. Key factors that are helping to take away business from operators include store modernisation, product testing and customer service.

Julio Puschel, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, said: "Tablets will drive significant changes to the current telecoms retail business model. New entrants, such as Amazon and other consumer electronics specialists which have already a very evolved online and multichannel strategy, will drive online tablet sales even faster than online smartphone sales, which will force operators to review their multichannel approach."