Brand Name Influence for Consumer Electronics Losing Luster

What's in a name? Less and less, according to a recent consumer survey.

Laura Blackwell, PC World

Consumer electronics shoppers are growing less impressed by big brands, according to the Vertis Customer Focus 2006 Home Electronics study. This year, only 29 percent of survey respondents called brand name the "most important" factor aside from price, down significantly from the last survey conducted.

When marketing and targeted advertising company Vertis conducted this study in 2004, 40 percent of respondents considered brand name most important. Brand name's influence had declined steadily since 1998, when 50 percent of buyers deemed it most important. The drop from 40 percent to 29 percent is the most dramatic in the study's history.

One retailer suggests this is less a matter of brand names losing ground than a matter of many brands gaining ground. "It's a small percentage of people who are fixated on one brand, but many are fixated on groups of brands," says Rick Souder, executive vice president of merchandising at catalog and online retailer Crutchfield. "Brands are still important to most customers, but the range of brands they would consider keeps expanding."

Who's the Primary Shopper?

"In the general shopping experience, our research indicates men and women care about brand equally," says Scott Marden, directory of marketing research at Vertis. "However, when specific categories are measured, the brand importance becomes greater for the gender more interested in the products within that category."

When shopping for consumer electronics--defined by Vertis as digital video cameras, HDTVs, home theater equipment, and large-screen TVs--men appear slightly more brand-conscious than women. Men aged 35 to 49 were the most interested in brand names (33 percent), followed by men aged 18 to 34 (31 percent), and aged 50 and older (30 percent). Women 50 years and older were as brand-conscious as their male counterparts, but the interest in brand declined in younger women. Only 27 percent of women aged 35 to 49 and 26 percent of women aged 18 to 34 considered brand name most important.

The study findings suggest that men are also slightly more likely to call themselves the chief shoppers for home electronics, with 94 percent of men in the 18-to-34 and 35-to-49 age groups, and 92 percent in the 50-and-over age group claiming to be the primary or equal decision-maker for CE purchases. However, women aren't leaving the buying decision completely to men. Of the female respondents, 91 percent in the 35-to-49 group identified themselves as primary or equal CE shoppers, followed by 86 percent in the 18-to-34 group and 50-and-over groups.

Beyond Brand: Other Factors

Of the factors on the survey, respondents still deemed brand name the most important. Other factors included frequent-buyer programs, the helpfulness and knowledge of the sales staff, product availability, special financing offers, special offers, and rebates. Respondents were asked not to consider price in their answers.

The study, meant to help retailers and consumer electronics manufacturers, addressed only issues that those companies can control. Marketing company Vertis did not inquire about other potential influences, such as product appearance, product reviews, and personal recommendations. Any of these could play a large role for a shopper, Crutchfield's Souder says.

Another factor Souder cites is customer service. "The ability to get help installing a product is very important. The products are becoming more complicated, so we can help them through that. We can help them with the product after they buy it."