Polk Verity Unveils 2000 DVD Consumer Electronics Monitor Report Research Findings

17-Apr-00

According to a recent DVD Consumer Electronic Monitor Report by Polk Verity, 65.5 percent of the American consumer population is aware of the Digital Video Disc (DVD) technology. DVD has evolved quicker than virtually any technology ever introduced. ""It is interesting to see how much has evolved with the DVD formats in just a few years,"" said David Larson, Vice President of Market Research for Polk Verity. ""With the new DVD technology in place, this study provides a glimpse into the future generation of music and recording formats that will replace the compact disc and VCR within the next two years."" Polk Verity's most recent Monitor DVD, conducted in February 2000, was comprised of 750 consumers ages 18 and over who were screened for DVD awareness and 350 retail dealers of consumer electronics products, who carry DVD equipment. The survey was constructed using a national probability sample, representative of the top 50 Designated Market Areas (DMAs) with a specific focus on the top 17 DMAs. Consumer Findings Sony has taken the early lead in DVD penetration and is the brand most often owned by consumers in our study (18 percent), followed by Panasonic (15 percent), Toshiba (15 percent) and RCA (7 percent). Several of the top brands owned show significant inconsistencies with brands consumers consider when shopping. For example, while 15 percent of consumers own Toshiba, only 5 percent said they would consider that brand first when shopping. Similarly, 15 percent of consumers surveyed own Panasonic while only 8 percent mentioned Panasonic as a top-of-mind brand they would consider when shopping.Consumers indicated the most purchase interest in DVD-Video players, where 33 percent indicated they were ""interested"" or ""very interested"" in purchasing, followed by DVD- ROM with 22 percent who were ""interested"" or ""very interested."" These findings have not changed dramatically since Polk Verity's 1997 Home Video Study, where 31 percent indicated they were ""interested"" or ""very interested"" in purchasing a DVD-Video player. Conversely, 81 percent of consumers indicated little or no interest in owning a portable DVD-Video player with attached screen.For the most part, manufacturers of first and second-generation DVD products have earned very high marks from their customers as owner satisfaction continues to rise. Eighty-two percent of DVD owners are satisfied or very satisfied with their DVD player (up from 66 percent only one year ago).Not surprisingly, superstores lead the advertising awareness category. Among dealers of DVD products, the advertisers most often recalled were Circuit City (41 percent) and Best Buy (38 percent), followed at a distance by Sears (9 percent). Persons who had seen DVD advertising were no more likely to purchase a DVD player than our general sample.Dealer Findings Among DVD products, DVD-Video has the highest carrying rate among dealers (97 percent carry), followed by DVD-Video carousels (61 percent carry) and DVD software (56 percent carry). Among brands, Sony leads the way with 64 percent of dealers carrying, followed by Panasonic (59 percent) and Toshiba (50 percent). According to dealers, their best selling brand is Sony (80 percent of mentions) followed by Toshiba (60 percent) and Samsung (50 percent). The reasons most often given for Sony's success are: good reputation (63 percent) and features/functions (24 percent). Conversely, most dealers (38 percent) indicated they did not have a poorest selling brand, but those that were mentioned most frequently as poor sellers were: General Electric (41 percent), Sharp (40 percent), and Zenith (35 percent).Comparative Findings: Consumer Vs. Dealer In general, consumers and dealers prefer the same DVD brands, with minor variations in the ""Top 10."" Thirteen percent of dealers said they would choose a Toshiba DVD player, while only 5 percent of consumers indicated a preference for Toshiba. Regarding DVD product functionality, consumer and dealer opinions were similar. In general, dealers perceived a much higher interest level on behalf of their customers among all product features. The features consumers were most interested in were built-in surround sound decoders (51 percent said they were ëinterested' or ëvery interested') and audio/video jacks (51 percent) where dealers felt consumers would be ëinterested' or ëvery interested' in audio/video jacks (85 percent) and DVD recording (82 percent). Both dealers and consumers unanimously agreed that mega-changer capability was the least desirable DVD feature (47 percent and 74 percent respectively indicated little or no interest in this feature).Dealers most frequently indicated ""$159"" as the price at which consumers would begin purchasing DVD-Video players on a mass scale. However, the median price consumers said they would be willing to pay for DVD-Video players was $250.DVD Consumer Segmentation In general, products utilizing digital technology are new to the mainstream electronics consumer. Using segmentation analysis, Polk Verity has begun to identify key consumer segments in the DVD market. The chart below highlights these three segments: DVD Technology Indifferent, DVD-ROM Enthusiasts and DVD-Video Fans.DVD Technology Indifferent (low interest in purchasing any DVD product). As expected, this consumer owns fewer DVD products than do other segments. The DVD Technology Indifferent consumers tend to prefer magazines the most to learn about new technologies.DVD-ROM enthusiasts (high interest in purchasing a DVD-ROM product) tend to be the most interested of all the segments in purchasing a DVD product, the strong purchase interest for a DVD-ROM player sticks out as the primary segment identifier. The DVD-ROM enthusiast prefers to utilize Internet Web sites the most when learning about new technologies like DVD (38 percent). DVD-ROM Enthusiasts tend to have a greater income than all other segments ($100,000 or more).DVD-Video fans (high interest in purchasing a DVD-Video Player) reported they were most influenced to buy the brand they did by features (25 percent), price (18 percent) and quality/brand reputation (18 percent). In terms of advertising, the DVD-Video fan consumer reported most often hearing or seeing DVD advertisements from Sony (25 percent), JVC (17 percent) and Panasonic (11 percent).Polk is a global company, delivering multi-dimensional marketing information solutions to the automotive industry to enhance the relationships consumers have with brands. Through lifetime understanding of individuals, Polk helps its clients maintain current customers, win new ones and build their brand loyalty. The company has served the automotive industry for 78 years and is the longest-standing steward of automobile records in the United States. Founded in Detroit in 1870, Polk launched its motor vehicle statistical operations in 1922 when the first car registration reports were published. It now serves nearly every segment of the motor vehicle industry as an analytical consultant and statistician, a provider of database-marketing services, a supplier of vehicle histories and a data enabler for geographic information systems. Based in Southfield, Michigan, Polk is a privately held firm that employs more than 2,500 people worldwide, currently operating in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.