Shopzilla’s survey into online shopping has found that 71% of tablet users have or would buy online, and 61% find it just as easy to shop online using a tablet as they do with a computer.

Research from 5,000 online shoppers in Europe found that 53% browse shopping sites with their friends on their tablets.

The news comes as several retailer buy-outs have been announced, including HMV getting permission to sell Waterstone’s.  Both Waterstone’s and HMV have been damaged by competition from cheaper online sites.

In the report, Shopzilla suggests various ways that retailers can try to attract more tablet users to websites, including TV advertising as 70% of iPad users browse shopping websites while watching TV; and making sure that the websites are optimised so they can be easily accessed through both browser and app with tablet users more likely to buy online than smartphone users.

Rachel Smith, senior director of business services at Shopzilla said: “The year of mobile commerce, which has been predicted for some time, is finally here. With the explosion of the tablet market, we are seeing a seismic change and the opportunity will be for the first-movers who get it right.

“Online shoppers with access to an iPad or tablet are finding it preferable to their smartphone for shopping related activities.  Tablet shoppers are effectively multi-taskers, and retailers can capitalise this well with targeted TV advertising.”