Barriers To Purchase HDTV Are Falling, But Consumers Remain Confused About The Product, Dove study Finds

3-Dec-03

The gap between the cost of a high-definition television and the amount U.S. consumers are willing to pay is closing, according to a newly-released study by Dove Consulting. Thirty percent of non-HDTV owners indicated they are willing to pay up to $700 for an HDTV; 20 percent are willing to pay $1,000.And while this may be promising for future sales, consumers are unclear about the products, programming, and benefits of HDTV. Forty-seven percent of consumers surveyed do not know if programming is available in their area. Furthermore, the variety of HDTV equipment remains confusing to consumers, as 23 percent were unsure whether they had an HD-capable set, even though definitions and descriptions of equipment were provided. Overall, only 17 percent of consumers reported having a good understanding of the equipment, while nearly 40 percent lacked knowledge or understanding.Additional highlights from the study include:- More than half of consumers surveyed learned about programming access through advertisements, followed by 32 percent through their cable company representative and 11 percent from retail store representatives.- When asked to describe the type of person who would be interested in HDTV, very few consumers indicated that it is ""someone like me.""- Once consumers have seen programming in high-definition, they want to see a lot more of it.""This is an opportunity poised for explosive growth--the challenges are on the marketing side, around building relevance, educating consumers, and developing creative packaging,"" noted Bob Davis, Managing Director of Dove's Consumer Broadband practice. ""Think about it: the research shows that there is 87 percent awareness, 30 percent of prospects willing to pay $700 to enable the service, and over 80 percent of consumers prepared to pay for content. And with very high satisfaction levels among current users, we have one of the best primed market opportunities we've seen in quite a while.""To download a copy of the summary research report, visit www.doveconsulting.com.The Dove HDTV Survey--Fall 2003 was administered via e-mail to consumers in the United States. We received 1,556 complete surveys over a nine-day period. The gender distribution of respondents is in line with 2000 U.S. Census data; our sample includes 51.6 percent females and 48.1 percent males. The income distributions are in line with recent data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau with the exception of the lowest and highest income groupings which were underrepresented.

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