In this
press release from Yahoo!, we can read that now more than ever it seems
consumers are getting hungry for high definition products. The only thing
holding them back is the current prices. Of course anyone that has been
following high definition dispalys at least knows that the prices are dropping
rapidly.
A recent survey has found that 27 percent of
adults polled want to to buy a HDTV (high-definition television) set within the
next year. What is interesting is this figure is the highest percentage of
purchase interest among the seven electronic devices tested. But when cost was
factored in, the interest waned.
When Harris Interactive asks respondents about their
likelihood to purchase these same technologies but includes current
pricing information, percentages who say they are likely to purchase in
the next year are somewhat lower. Likelihood to purchase a high-definition
television set that costs between $1,500 and $5,000 is 19 percent while
likelihood of purchasing a next generation DVD player that costs between
$250 and $1,000 is 16 percent.
These are the results of a survey conducted online
by Harris Interactive among a nationwide sample of 2,630 U.S. adults
between March 8 and 14, 2005. A list of home electronic devices without
price ranges was presented to 1,341 adults, while a list that included
price ranges was presented to a separate group of 1,289 adults.
The differences between consumer responses before
and after pricing information is disclosed illustrate the degree to which
cost continues to inhibit the proliferation of HDTV and may threaten to
inhibit the introduction of next-generation DVD players in the U.S. By
comparison, the results show there is no significant difference between
the percentages of American adults likely to buy a basic television set
that costs between $100 and $500, a toaster that costs between $15 and
$75, or TiVo or another digital video recorder that costs between $100 and
$500, plus $20 per month and the percentages likely to buy when the prices
of the devices are omitted.
Basic DVD players and VCRs, on the other hand,
actually post higher levels of purchase interest when price ranges are
included in the question. Only 19 percent of adults are interested in
buying a basic DVD player, while a basic DVD player that costs between $40
and $150 has a net purchase interest of 25 percent. Likewise, 12 percent
of adults say they are likely to buy a VCR in the next year, compared to
17 percent interested in buying a VCR that costs between $30 and
$120. |
Interestingly, it seems that the
generation that is most likely to take the plunge are
the so-called "Echo Boomers". These are people aged between 18
and 27. Nearly one-third or 32% of Echo boomers are likley to purchase an
HDTV set when price is not mentioned and yet 29% still think they will buy when
it is.You may read the entire
report over on the Yahoo! Business website.
Source: Yahoo!
