Consumers judge tech by its cover

27th August 2015

GfK

Jordan Mulcare

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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%) firmly agree that look and style is very important, compared to less than one in ten (9%) who firmly disagree. 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% in strong agreement that looks matter in choosing which product to buy and only 5% strongly against. They are closely followed by 30-39 year olds (36% and 6% respectively) and then teenagers (those aged 15-19) who stand at 34% and 11% 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%).

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%, Mexico 48% and Brazil 45%), including around a quarter in each country who say they “agree completely” (Turkey 26%, Mexico 23% and Brazil 25%).

In contrast, Sweden, Belgium and Germany hold the highest percent age 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%) firmly disagreeing with the idea, followed by Belgium (22%) and Germany (20%). 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%, Belgium and Germany both 10%).

Arndt Polifke, Global Director for Telecommunications, GfK, comments: “These findings 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? When we 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.”