• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, November 10, 2011

New findings from a Jumptap study on mobile banking and commerce indicate that tablet owners are almost as likely as PC and laptop owners to use their devices to make purchases. Two-thirds (63%) of tablet users make purchases on the device, compared to 83% of PC owners who do the same.

Younger users are more comfortable using tablets to buy products and services. Nearly eight in 10 tablet owners ages 18 to 34 make purchases with the devices, compared to 50% of people 35 to 54 and 43% of those 55+, according to the study, which is based on comScore data.

The top three products and services bought across all mobile devices are event tickets, daily deals from sites like Groupon and LivingSocial and clothing. Security is the main reason that people hold back from doing mobile transactions, but that concern is not as big a barrier for tablet owners.

Nearly a third of smartphone users (32%) cited security as one reason they have not made a mobile purchase, compared to only 17% of tablet users.

“The drastic growth in tablets as a choice device for ecommerce is due to its larger form factor, which is more conducive to the keystroke-intensive behaviors of Internet purchasing and banking,” stated Jumptap CMO Paran Johar. Inputting credit card and other data may not be as easy on a touchscreen as a PC keyboard, but it’s not proving to be a major stumbling block.

The results of the mobile ad network’s study coincide with other research and anecdotal information that tablets, assumed to be mainly portable media players, are also becoming m-commerce machines. While tablets still account for only a fraction of online sales, Forrester has found the conversion rate for shoppers using tablets is 4% to 5%, compared to 3% for shoppers using a PC.

When it comes to mobile banking, the Jumptap study reported that one in six mobile users are accessing banking, credit card, insurance or brokerage information on their mobile device -- up from one in eight a year ago. That’s an increase from 27.7 million to 37.9 million people. Those engaging in mobile banking tend to be younger (53% are 18-34) and more likely to own a smartphone and an iPad. About a fifth (21%) access their bank accounts almost every day.

The study also showed that traffic to mobile financial sites is up 139% in the last year -- eight times the rate of online. Separate data released today by mobile ad network Millennial Media also showed that financial services was the top category in ad spending on its network in the third quarter.