Lexmark has conducted worldwide market research (including Australia) on consumer attitudes towards technology device durability. In short – we expect our purchases to fail early, but we don’t like it.

 

August 29, 2009: Lexmark has conducted worldwide market research (including Australia) on consumer attitudes towards technology device durability. In short – we expect our purchases to fail early, but we don’t like it.

In the light of a recent PMA Consumer Imaging in Australia Report, which found that over 40 percent of consumers upgrade digital cameras simply because their existing model packed it in, it seems that perceptions and reality are fairly closely linked on this issue!

A majority (78 percent) of people do not expect their technology devices to last more than five years, and 60 percent of the 10,000 respondents across 21 countries believe the materials used to construct devices could be of better quality. But even though consumers might anticipate short-lived technology products, they don’t like them; their responses suggest that product failures ultimately lead people to abandon brands, according to Lexmark.

Long warranties build confidence

Trust in the quality and durability of technology devices (mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, printers) is surprisingly low according to the worldwide survey, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Lexmark, Inc.

However, products which are accompanied by longer warranties inspire confidence among 83 percent of respondents, and when specifically asked, ‘Which element is most likely to reassure you about the durability of the device?’ nearly 40 percent worldwide said they would be most reassured by a long warranty.

Lexmark noted that a longer warranty motivates people to repair defective devices rather than throw them out – benefitting the environment and (in most cases), the consumer.

Other findings included:

– Only 2 percent of people believe high price equals durability;

– Age division: nearly 30 percent of those 50 years and older, but only 17 percent of those 15-34 expect their devices to last more than five years;

– 24 percent of people responded that they would change brands based on a device failure;

– Women have slightly higher device longevity expectations than men.

Despite the fact that 67 percent of people worldwide feel guilty when they dispose of a device rather than seeking repair, nearly half (48 percent) admit they will throw away an out-of-warranty device rather than having it repaired.

Australians, along with North Americans and Western Europeans, were the most inclined to throw away defective devices no longer under warranty, whereas people in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America are more likely to seek repair for the defective device.

The research was in support of a Lexmark initiative to offer a five-year warranty on its Professional series all-in-ones and printers.