By Craig Zammit
SYDNEY: GfK research has revealed that consumers looking to purchase televisions consider picture quality more important than the right price point, with only 30 per cent of consumers rating value for money as the most important decision factor when making a purchase.
The findings were contained in a report conducted by GfK’s ConsumerScope tracking service.
“Many consumers like to buy products based on price or ‘value for money’ and this is the case across nearly all product categories covered, with an average of 40-50 per cent of all digital camera, PC and mobile phone consumers, stating that price/value is one of the most important factors when buying these products,” GfK account director – consumer insights, Dr Morten Boyer, told Current.com.au.
“The TV consumer, however, is an exception; with the most important attribute being picture quality.
“Over 50 per cent of TV consumers surveyed list picture quality as a critical product attribute in the decision making process, whilst only 30 per cent rate price/value.
“Although this makes price/value the second most important product attribute, the drop from first to second is substantial [around 20 per cent], especially compared to other product categories where the proportional difference between the top two responses is far more modest – generally less than 5 per cent.
Boyer believes that the role of the retailer in consumer buying behaviour is crucial, with the television category being one of the few categories which provides consumers with an opportunity to see their target product in action.
“In-store, consumers are generally not able to take photos, talk on mobiles, or use computer applications. They can, however, watch TV,” he said.
“Without the ability to assess what a product is actually designed to do, consumers must rely on the remaining factors that are available to compare and contrast, for example, price.
“This could be why the television consumer is more motivated by a quality-related attribute, rather than the almighty dollar.”