HDTVs and Blu-ray Players Top US Consumers' Wish-Lists
Buying HDTVs and Blu-ray disc players rank at the top of the wish-list of U.S. consumers when it comes to consumer electronic products, according to a new survey by ABI Research firm.
ABI Research surveyed 2024 consumers in the United States about the consumer electronic products in their households (device types and numbers), home networking, and purchase intent (device type, brand, and features critical to the purchase decision).
Among the significant top-line results, some 24% of the respondents indicated that their highest-priority purchases over the next six months would likely be of HDTVs (24%) and Blu-ray players (17%). About 60% of the households surveyed said they already have one HDTV, the research firm said.
According to senior analyst Michael Inouye, "As consumers replace older TVs, there really isn't much choice now but to buy an HDTV, so even if the consumer doesn't necessarily want to view HDTV content, thatÂ’s usually what they end up with. Prices for HDTVs have fallen quite a bit, and many households are now replacing their second- and third-string televisions."
According to the same research, video game consoles rated at the top of the wish-list for 16%. 46% of those surveyed said they had no major purchase intentions for the next six months.
In terms of "critical/very important" factors in planned purchases, price was either the most cited or second-most for most devices. For digital cameras, it was third (zoom range and megapixels were the top two in that category); for portable video game devices screen size and controls were the most critical factors, followed by price. Price was also a lesser consideration in laptops, exceeded by processor speed, memory, storage capacity, and operating system. And perhaps counter to conventional assumptions, the survey showed that for media tablets price ranked only seventh in importance. Practice director Jason Blackwell adds, "One surprising result in regard to media tablets was that Windows came in second after Apple, and ahead of Android. That probably has more to do with brand awareness than anything else, but it does give some hope to Microsoft."
Among the significant top-line results, some 24% of the respondents indicated that their highest-priority purchases over the next six months would likely be of HDTVs (24%) and Blu-ray players (17%). About 60% of the households surveyed said they already have one HDTV, the research firm said.
According to senior analyst Michael Inouye, "As consumers replace older TVs, there really isn't much choice now but to buy an HDTV, so even if the consumer doesn't necessarily want to view HDTV content, thatÂ’s usually what they end up with. Prices for HDTVs have fallen quite a bit, and many households are now replacing their second- and third-string televisions."
According to the same research, video game consoles rated at the top of the wish-list for 16%. 46% of those surveyed said they had no major purchase intentions for the next six months.
In terms of "critical/very important" factors in planned purchases, price was either the most cited or second-most for most devices. For digital cameras, it was third (zoom range and megapixels were the top two in that category); for portable video game devices screen size and controls were the most critical factors, followed by price. Price was also a lesser consideration in laptops, exceeded by processor speed, memory, storage capacity, and operating system. And perhaps counter to conventional assumptions, the survey showed that for media tablets price ranked only seventh in importance. Practice director Jason Blackwell adds, "One surprising result in regard to media tablets was that Windows came in second after Apple, and ahead of Android. That probably has more to do with brand awareness than anything else, but it does give some hope to Microsoft."
