Consumers’ Digital Camera Brand Loyalty Falls: Study
Consumers bogged down by a slew of digital camera choices aren’t particularly loyal to any one brand, a study conducted by market research company J.D. Power and Associates revealed.
As increasing model offerings challenge perceived product differentiation among consumers, only 26% of digital camera buyers say they would purchase the same camera brand in the future, a 9% drop from 2005, the 2006 Digital Camera Satisfaction Study found.
“While price and picture quality remain strong purchase motivators, competitive parity is making product features, functions and brand reputation less important to consumers,” said Steve Kirkeby, executive director of telecommunications and technology research at J.D. Power and Associates in a statement. “…Listening and effectively responding to the voice of the customer is crucial to manufacturers in providing products that will improve satisfaction and solidify loyalty.”
When deciding what brand to buy, 63% of consumers utilize the Internet as a source of information—nearly twice the incidence of using information found in consumer product publications (33%). Recommendations from family and friends (33%) and the salesperson’s opinion (27%) are nearly on equal footing as resources for product information, the study found.
The J.D. Power and Associates study measured six factors within price-based camera segments to determine digital camera buyers’ overall satisfaction: ease of use, connectivity, functionality, cost, picture quality and appearance.
Nikon ranked highest in the $199 or less price segment. Within the $200-$399 segment, in which the majority of cameras are purchased, Kodak ranked the highest for a third consecutive year. Canon ranked highest in the $400-$599 segment. In the high-end $600 or more price segment, Olympus ranked highest.
The study also reviewed gender differences, finding that women are most likely to purchase a camera from the $199 or less segment (48%), while the majority of men purchase a camera in the $200-$399 segment (43%). In general, men take nearly one and one-third times as many pictures per month than women, by an average of 109 to 82, the study said.
Westlake Village, CA-based J.D. Power and Associates conducted the study based on responses from more than 5,800 consumers who purchased or received a digital camera from January to July 2006.
