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Among
the fairly static group of US
consumers that report familiarity
with HDTV in the past year,
the perceived benefits have
remained quite high. The critical
issue today is that many consumers
know HDTV exists, but haven't
been convinced that it offers
enough benefit to justify replacing
their current TV sets. Some
of the reluctance to become
more familiar with HDTV may
have to do with this 'worth
it' hurdle.
The
‘worth it’ hurdle
means the incremental benefit
to the consumer, balanced against
the cost and hassle of experiencing
that benefit, including evaluating
alternatives, learning how to
use the new technology, and
any 'hidden' costs like upgraded
receiver boxes.
The
report notes that awareness
levels have topped out as the
range of HDTV-related technology
products and services are promoted
by manufacturers, networks.
The research firm sees both
the need and an opportunity
to develop the market beyond
the early adopter stage, to
create mainstream momentum.
Most survey respondents familiar
with HDTV recall having seen
an ad for HDTV in the past month
(84 per cent), and three quarters
(74 per cent) have looked into
the capability in store.
The
study notes that the lack of
growth in consumers’ HDTV
purchase intentions in the past
three years suggests that the
value proposition hasn’t
been made compelling to enough
consumers yet. Marketers and
advertisers who can get consumers
over the ‘worth-it’
hurdle will reap the benefits
of this exciting new technology.
At
some point, the firms who have
invested in this technology
have to amortise that investment,
and sooner or later that has
to entail further reductions
in price points that turn ‘theoretical’
margin into actual margin.
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