Looks Count When Buying Tech Products

PR61401

NUREMBERG, Germany, August 26, 2015 /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

    - Internationally, one in three consumers firmly agree the look and style

of a technology product is very important in deciding which one to buy

     - Firm agreement is highest in Turkey, Mexico and Brazil

     - Sweden, Belgium and Germany have highest percentage firmly disagreeing.

    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 in Turkey, 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 press@gfk.com

    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, press@gfk.com

     Press contact = Stefan Gerhardt, Global PR, +49-911 395 4440, press@gfk.com

Source: GfK