The internet is Asia’s No.1 source of information on electronics: Survey

India Infoline News Service / Mumbai Feb 01, 2008 17:07

The survey shows that 83% of respondent in India cite the Internet as their most used resource for this purpose followed by newspapers (56%)

Gadget enthusiasts in India are increasingly going online to research their next consumer electronics purchase, according to a Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions’ Consumer Electronics Survey released. The survey shows that 83% of respondent in India cite the Internet as their most used resource for this purpose followed by newspapers (56%). On the internet, Portals (55%) are the second most used resources followed by search engines (44%) and product review websites (41%). Nearly 10,000 MSN/Windows Live service users were surveyed across ten markets in Asia — Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand — in a poll conducted by Synovate during August to October 2007 for Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions. The internet is the preferred choice in India because consumers can find the latest available models (67%) and compare product features (65%), can compare prices (62%) and because they can do it any time (61%). Interestingly, Quality (61%) and price (61%) were the key criteria for purchasing consumer electronics rather than the brand name (37%). 80% of respondents from India felt music was an important part of their life. 77% felt that a quality home entertainment experience was important and 74% felt that they just could not do without mobile communication. Celia Fan, Regional Media Analyst, Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, Asia Pacific, Greater China & Japan, said: “Today, instead of making a trip to the mall for product guidance, or settling for a product choice based on limited reviews from family and friends – smarter consumers are conducting research on their own online, where a multitude of product comparisons, reviews and recommendations are freely available.” “The online medium today empowers a lot of consumers in research and guidance for their purchases. Consumers in India by nature generally prefer to go by recommendations and today they have access to a lot more people and communities on the internet for advice,” said Vineet Gupta – India Marketing Manager, Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions. 77% of respondents intend to buy at least one consumer electronic equipment in the next 12 months. Products most often researched by the respondents include mobile phones, laptop computers and digital cameras. Laptop, mobile phones and MP3 players are among the top three preferred electronic products bought online by the users in India. Ownership of mobile phones / PDAs / smart phones in India are high – 91%, and the intention of purchasing them in the coming 12 months is also the highest, where 37% intend to buy a mobile phone/PDA/ smartphone in the next 12 months. 3The purchase decisions for electronics are likely to be influenced by the children in Indian households. As seen in almost all markets, (43%) of respondents said kids have a lot of influence in swaying purchase decisions for ‘household-sharing’ items such as computers and TVs.