Google is witnessing much higher conversion rates from tablet devices such as the iPad than either mobile phones or desktop computers.
The search giant says consumers are buying everything from music and DVDs to higher purchase items including cars, sofas and houses from tablets.
Ian Carrington, Google's head of mobile for EMEA, says retailers are taking advantage of the 'tablet phenomenon' but the travel sector has yet to catch on.
He adds the user experience of tablets is driving conversion as well as the personal nature of the device and engaging content provided by retailers.
Carrington's comments are supported by research from e-commerce software specialist Ability Commerce which shows conversions on tablets outnumber those on smartphones by almost three to one.
The study, released in September, on three companies conducting a significant volume of business online, shows iPad users made up more than 55% of mobile commerce revenue while only accounting for 13% of mobile customer visits for one company.
A second company saw 21% of its web traffic come via the iPad but 51% of its sales while the third saw 50% of their web traffic via the tablet device and 97% of all mobile revenue.
Research on 800 retailers released last year by Shopatron shows the average iPad conversion rate is seven times higher than for a smartphone device.
Carrington also says 14% of all travel related queries are coming from a mobile phone, compared to 4% in 2010.
NB: Carrington was speaking at the Travolution Summit in London.