NUREMBERG, Germany /PRNewswire/ --
In anticipation of a number
of new technology
gadgets being launched this summer, GfK has
released international findings
on how important the look and style of a technology product is to
consumers, in deciding which one to
buy.
Across
all 22 countries surveyed, one in three consumers (33 percent)
firmly agree that look and style is very important, compared to
less than one in ten (nine percent) who firmly disagree - and this
balance is exactly the same for both men and women.
The
looks and style of technology products are most important to those
aged 20-29, with 37 percent in strong agreement that looks matter
in choosing which product to buy - and only five percent strongly
against. They are closely followed by 30-39 year olds (36 percent
and 6 percent respectively) and then teenagers (those aged 15-19)
who stand at 34 percent and 11 percent respectively. For those aged
50 and over, the looks and style of technology products become
comparatively far less important in the purchase decision, with
strong agreement dropping to just under a quarter (23 percent).
Consumers in Turkey, Mexico and Brazil want good looking tech
Technology product manufacturers should avoid presenting anything
but good looking devices to consumers inTurkey, Mexico and Brazil. These countries come top of all 22 markets for
'looks appeal', with close to half of their consumers agreeing that
the look and style of a technology product is very important in
deciding which one to buy (Turkey 49 percent, Mexico 48 percent and Brazil 45 percent) - including around a quarter in
each country who say they "agree completely" (Turkey 26 percent, Mexico 23 percent and Brazil 25 percent).
In Sweden, Belgium and Germany,
consumers are less swayed
by looks
In
contrast, Sweden, Belgium and Germany hold the highest percentage of consumers who
actively disagree that the look and style of a tech product is
important in choosing which one to buy. Sweden leads the way on this, with a quarter (26
percent) firmly disagreeing with the idea, followed
by Belgium (22 percent) and Germany (20 percent). Delving deeper in those
numbers, we find that they include one in ten consumers in each
country who go so far as to say they "don't agree at all"
(Sweden 14 percent, Belgium and Germany both 10 percent).
Arndt
Polifke, GfK's global director for telecommunications, comments,
"These findings are valuable because they give our clients the big
picture on what different markets and demographics are focusing on,
in selecting technology products to buy. For example - which
markets will favor a smartphone that's stylish to look at, over
other aspects, such as functionality? When we then add in the
granular detail delivered by our point of sales data, showing how
well specific products are selling in each market and at what
price, this produces truly robust and trusted market insight -
material that our clients rely on to build their market strategy."
Infographic - findings by
country: http://www.gfk.com/PublishingImages/Press/GfK-Infographic-Look-Technology-Countries-Web.jpg
For
more information on GfK's international research into people's
online attitudes and behavior, please contact[email protected]
About the study
GfK
conducted an online survey (face to face in Ukraine) with over 26,000 consumers aged 15 or older in
22 countries. Fieldwork was carried out in summer 2014. In the
countries surveyed online, the data have been weighted to reflect
the demographic composition of the online population age 15+ in
each market. In Ukraine, where interviews were face to face, the study is
representative of the top-tier urban population aged 15+ excluding
the lowest SES levels and was restricted to people who used the
Internet within the last 30 days. The countries included in this
press release are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, Ukraine and USA.
For
more information, please visit http://www.gfk.com or
follow GfK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GfK
Press
contact = Amanda Martin, Global PR, +44-7919-624-688, [email protected]
Press contact = Stefan Gerhardt, Global PR, +49-911 395 4440, [email protected]