One of the biggest challenges facing device manufacturers is market saturation. With so many Americans owning the three most popular devices ­– a smartphone, tablet, and computer – how can manufacturers encourage people to buy more?

How saturated is the market? According to our data, at the end of 2014, 33% of American internet users owned all three devices and perhaps just as interesting, only 3% owned no smartphone, laptop, or tablet. When we widen the search, we find that 30% of users owned cell (“dumb”) phones, 29% owned gaming consoles, with MP3 players and Smart TVs both at 19%.

So there’s certainly room in the market for growth – cell phone owners upgrading to smartphones, more people switching to smart TVs, and at 2.5%, surely there’s scope for an expansion of wearable devices. But there is more to this analysis than simply reach – many of these devices are expensive, and our research shows how both income and age affect ownership.

Smartphones are regarded as an essential item by many consumers, regardless of income. In Q4 / 2014, 42% of people earning $15,000 or less owned a smartphone, rising to a peak of 80% among those taking home $150,000 or more. The picture is similar when cut by age – ownership varies between 75% and 78% for those in the 18-39 years age range, with 30-34 year olds most likely to own a smartphone.

Penetration of tablets amongst the lowest earners in our research is almost half that of smartphones at 25%, rising steadily with income: 56% of those earning $150,000 or more own tablets. Tablet ownership again peaks amongst the device hungry 30-34 year olds, but compared to smartphones the declines in ownership are less steep for older age groups. Tablets appeal to all age groups.

With phablets becoming more popular, there is an opportunity for manufacturers to promote this hybrid, large screen phone as a money-saver for those who can’t live without their smartphone but also want to enjoy content without splashing out on a tablet. We’ve already seen this with the Samsung Galaxy Note family, whose success pushed Apple into the phablet market with their iPhone 6+.

Once a device enters the mass market, selling new improved models demands a different skill set from the manufacturer and their marketing department. They need to understand what functionalities appeal to which demographic groups, and to target devices and their promotional campaigns to those audiences. Price points need to be accessible, and feature sets, design, and brand identity need to be aspirational. To make that possible, companies need to rely on data that shows how people are using their devices, what content they watch, how many calls they make and what media they download. Crucially brands need to understand pain points if they are to develop products and features that will appeal to buyers – both those new to the device category, and those upgrading to a new, more advanced model.