55% of Europeans would buy U-HDTV
March 5, 2014
Following the positive news regarding U-HDTV purchase intentions reported by Strategy Analytics VP and Principal Analyst David Mercer in early January, the firm has completed the weighting of the latest European survey data in its ConsumerMetrix service.
Writing in the company blog, Mercer, says that as in the US, Strategy Analytics found strong interest in buying a new U-HDTV over the next two years, assuming the products meet performance and price expectations. Fifty-five per cent of Europeans said they would be very or somewhat likely to buy a U-HDTV over the coming two years, split between 15 per cent “very” and 41 per cent “somewhat likely” (the difference is as a result of rounding).
The survey question asked respondents to make certain assumptions:
Ultra HD or 4k TV is a new type of TV which offers significantly improved images compared to today’s HDTV. Assuming the price of an Ultra HD or 4k TV was acceptable to you, and assuming the image quality was as good as is claimed, how likely would you be to buy a new Ultra HD or 4k TV within the next two years?
Some commentators questioned Strategy Analytics’ approach but said the analytics firm felt it was justified to ask consumers to make assumptions about things they are not familiar with. “At minimum this research demonstrates that people are indeed interested in improving their big screen TV experience, even when they already have HD. This is an important finding in itself, given that there seem to be many observers doubting the need for Ultra HD or indeed the future importance of the big screen in the home in general,” says Mercer.
The study also reached the following conclusions:
- Awareness of the term ‘Ultra HD’ is much higher than either ‘4K TV’ or ‘UHD’
- Awareness of Ultra HD declines with age and increases with income
- Two thirds of higher income households would be willing to buy an Ultra HDTV
- Intention to buy Ultra HDTV peaks in the 25-34 age group
- Other indicators of intention to buy Ultra HDTV are number of children in the household and ownership of surround sound systems