The Cross-Generational Appeal of HDTV
Written by Nathan Ingraham (contact - e-mail) -- January 21st, 2009 | Share - Save - E-mailOn the Compete blog, we’ve looked at how people are shopping for high-definition televisions (HDTVs) and found that interest is booming despite the tough economy.
We recently conducted a survey where we asked respondents what consumer electronics products they planned on purchasing over the next 12 months. HDTVs led the way, with 25% of all respondents indicating that they planned on purchasing one in the next year.
So who are HDTV shoppers? Does this product category attract younger consumers, who seem ready to splurge on the latest and greatest technology, or are HDTVs a product that people young and old alike have on their must-buy list?
As expected, we found that younger consumers were more likely to say they’re planning to buy most CE products. However, the picture changes when looking at HDTV shoppers.
The trend shown for respondents who expected to purchase an MP3 player or video game console is a good example of what we see for most other CE products: those in the 18-34 age bracket are most likely to say they are planning to buy the product in the next 12 months, with progressively lower proportions of people in the more senior age groups planning a purchase of the same item. As we can see in the graph, the HDTV trend is completely different, with each age bracket having a roughly equal share of respondents who are planning to buy one in the next year.
Why are consumers so interested in buying an HDTV in 2009? Across all age groups, just over half of those planning to purchase an HDTV said that a motivating factor behind the purchase would be to replace a current product. A desire to enjoy an increasing number of HD television channels, and other high-resolution content like Blu-Ray may also be a factor. Finally, the upcoming analog TV signal shutdown may be driving consumers of all ages to consider replacing their older sets.
Whatever the reasons, the appeal of upgrading to an HDTV seems to know no age boundaries.
For more results from the CEA/Compete study, click here.
Interested in learning more about how consumers shop for and use Consumer Electronics? Join us at 2 p.m. EST on February 5th for our next webinar featuring results from a joint study with the Consumer Electronics Association on older Americans and technology. Click here to register.
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January 22nd, 2009 at 7:03 am
you are right. HDTV is the new generation funda. very nice & educative blog
regards
sanjay
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:08 am
Oh, C’mon. You give older people a choice between HDTV, MP3 player and a video game console, which one do you think they’re going to say? If you want a true measure of HDTV’s popularity, you need to be comparing it with some other products which aren’t restricted to the younger generations.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:44 am
Hi Ling,
We actually compared about 15 different consumer electronics products and no other one displayed the patterns that HDTV did. The general trend seen in the video game/MP3 player data were consistent with other products we asked about. On the webinar we should be showing the full spectrum of options, so check it out if you’re curious!
Thanks for your comment,
Nathan
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Well, in my circle of family and acquaintances, HDTV (and TV in genreal) is an “old people” thing. Most of my older relatives have a huge HDTV which is the center of activities at home: having a big TV is particularly a status symbol for men… Women are often offput by the challenge of finding a place for a huge TV in the living room.
I can think of two 30-something couples that have HDTVs, but most of the under-40’s I know are:
(i) unplugged (just don’t care about TV, computers or other media), or
(ii) are primarily interested in “new media” and prerecorded video
In our house we watch “TV” on a computer, and it’s usually Japanese cartoons or other things that aren’t on broadcast TV. We’ll probably buy an HDTV some day to use as a computer monitor… Someday.
January 26th, 2009 at 1:09 am
This post really amazed me, but I can definitely understand why the results are what they are. In most cases, people like to “really” watch tv. Most people who watch tv are passionate users, and want to “go big or go home” when it comes to their entertainment systems… hdtv’s included.
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