Features grow but money talks for HDTV purchases

Features grow but money talks for HDTV purchases

Editor
| 14 July 2015

TV sets may now come with connectivity as standard and increasingly high quality image support but price remains the key to purchasing says the latest JD Power HDTV customer satisfaction report.

The 2015 HDTV Satisfaction Report, carried out in May 2015, measured satisfaction across seven factors: performance, reliability, features, price, ease of operation, style/appearance and warranty. Satisfaction was calculated on a 1,000-point scale based on responses from more than 3,750 customers who purchased an HDTV in the past 12 months.

The report found overall customer satisfaction with recently purchased HDTVs declined slightly in both the 50" and larger and the smaller-than 50" categories. Yet overall satisfaction was higher among consumers who purchased an HDTV 50" or larger than among those who purchased a smaller screen. Among purchasers of HDTVs with 50" and larger screen sizes, overall satisfaction slipped to an average 859 from 870 in terms of the JD Power ratings, and among purchasers of smaller displays, satisfaction fell to 839 from 855.

Among consumers who bought HDTVs in the past 12 months, price was the primary factor in their choice, cited as the primary reason for purchase by just over two-thirds (69%) of those buying an HDTV smaller than 50" and 63% of those with an HDTV larger than 50" respectively.

A higher percentage of people who bought the bigger TVs bought smart TVs compared with purchasers of smaller TVs. Three-quarters of purchasers of 50" and larger models bought a smart TV, while just over half (51%) of people buying smaller models got a smart TV. Buyers of 50" and larger TVs were more likely to access video-on-demand (VOD) and social media than purchasers of smaller TVs.

In addition, and in an interesting pointer for the future, a higher percentage of buyers purchasing a 50" and larger model took home one with a curved screen or with 4K/Ultra HD resolution than those purchasing smaller TVs. Among 50"and larger buyers, 16% bought a curved screen, compared with 8% of buyers of smaller TVs, with 22% buying 4KTVs, compared with 9% of smaller-screen buyers.