electronics

Study: Intention To Buy Smart TVs On The Rise

Smart-TV

Whether it's because they're more affordable, more plentiful or simply more practical, people are becoming more likely to buy an Internet-connected television now than they were at the beginning of the year.

According to Parks Associates, more than 10% of households that currently have broadband plan to purchase a so-called smart TV in the second half of 2011, up from 6% who said they planned to purchase one in the first half.

"There's a number of factors" at play for the increase, John Barrett, research director for Parks Associates, tells Marketing Daily. "On the one hand, manufacturers continue to make their efforts known to consumers. There's more comfort and consistency to how this is portrayed in marketing."

In addition, consumers are viewing the technology as something that is or will become commonplace on televisions in the future, and therefore don't feel as if they're being charged a hefty premium over non-Internet-connected TVs. "Our data has shown that people weren't willing to pay a premium for it," Barrett says, although those who anticipated buying one of these sets expected to pay $1,000 on average for the device.

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People have also discovered a reason for having Internet connectivity on their televisions -- namely, "the Netflix effect," Barrett says. "You have a successful service that's showing a tangible benefit. Engineers get excited about technology for technology's sake, and the rest of us don't. We want it to do something. [Until recently,] connected TV's have been in that category of, 'What can it do for me?'"

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