Quality and reliability are most important factors when buying tech products online
2 April 2014, SINGAPORE – With the swift adoption of the latest technolgy spurring the high ownership of tecnology ownership in Singapore, it is not surprising that a high proportion – almost the entire local population – has personally purchased a technical consumer product in the past two years. Specifically, more than 90 percent of respondents have purchased Telecommunication Technologies (95%), PC & Accesories (94%), followed by Small Domestic Appliances (86%) and Consumer Electronics (83%).
“There is an apparent strong fixation amongst the local population with the latest smartphone technology, judging by the perpetual long queues that form at the retail outlets of mobile operators,” observed Lawrence Yeow, APAC Retail Director at GfK Asia. “With the high rate of handset penetration in Singapore, Telecommunication Technology is expectantly the most sought after segment in the tech sector.”
GfK’s annual Shopping Monitor Electro study explores consumer preferences and shopping behaviour across several countries, including Singapore, Australia, the Philippines and the UK, for the categories of: Consumer Electronics, White Goods, Small Domestic Appliances, Telecommunication Technologies, Camera & Photography, PC & Accessories and Entertainment Electric Media. In Singapore, results of the online survey conducted amongst more than 950 respondents were revealed at the beginning of 2014.
When it comes to buying technical consumer goods, quality and reliability stand out as the most important factor rated by majority of consumers in Singapore when making purchases, significantly outstripping any other factor, such as price, brand, technical specifications or design. However, there is a stark difference in the second most important factor when it comes to puchasing products in the Consumer Electronics, White Goods, Small Domestic Appliances, and Entertainment Electric Media, as compared to Telecommunication Technologies, Camera & Photography, and PC & Accessories. Whereas buyers tend to go for special price offer for the former categories of products, technical specifications and features are the second key consideration for the latter group.
“It is interesting to highlight that power efficiency as a criteria ranked highest when buying white goods, with 19 percent of Singaporeans citing it as an influencing factor when making a purchase in this category, significantly more highly regarded as compared to product design (10%) or even discount (7%),” said Yeow. “This is likely due to the high cost of electricity in Singapore which brings savvy buyers choose a long term solution over the initial low price.”
When deciding where to do their shopping, study shows that special price offers (49%) and wide selection of goods (48%) are the two most important criterias which draw consumers to a particular retailer. Low prices emerged at a distant third with only one in three (32%) mentioning it in the three top factors.
Yeow concluded, “Our Shopper Monitor findings are seen as vital by major retailers and suppliers to pinpoint strategic areas for growth as these insights we deliver help our clients monitor their competitive positioning in the shoppers’ eyes, which products and categories show the greatest growth potential, and what factors have most influence on shoppers’ current decision making – to name just a few.”
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Note:
– Technical Consumer Goods covered in the survey include Consumer Electronics, White Goods, Small Domestic Appliances, Telecommunication Technologies, Camera & Photography, PC & Accessories, and Entertainment Electric Media