Survey says: innovation is important to consumers

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Survey says: innovation is important to consumers
Posted on September 3, 2015 by Iosetta Santini

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Many consumers see out innovative products and will pay a premium price for them, according to a new survey by Chicago-based Lab 42.

The key findings:

  • Perception of innovation is hugely important in purchasing decisions
  • Consumers are willing to pay a premium for innovative goods and services
  • Half of consumers say they have bought a new product without fully understanding what it did or how it worked solely because they thought it was ‘cool’.

Nearly two-thirds of those who responded to the survey purchased a first generation product at least once, but 63 percent also say they prefer to wait until a product has been out for a while.

The study shows clear demographic differences in those consumers who want to be early adopters. For instance, of the consumers who purchase products as soon as they come out, 65 percent are men.  In contrast, of the consumers who are more likely to purchase a product once it has been out for a long time, 59 percent are women.

Older consumers are not so enamored of innovation. Only 6 percent of people 55 and older buy first generation products.

On the other hand, 45 percent of millennials and 49 percent of 35-54 year-olds buy new products.

Consumers are willing to pay a premium for innovation, the survey suggests.

Over 83 percent of respondents would pay more for innovation in electronics with 15 percent of these willing to pay over 40 percent more. In the automotive industry, 75 percent of respondents would be willing to pay an innovation premium, with 10% willing to go over 40 percent more.

The Lab42 Innovation Survey is based on 1,000 interviews conducted online between April 5, 2015 and April 9, 2015. The results were obtained using Lab42’s unique social media based sampling, where respondents are reached while they are engaging on social networks, games or applications, or e-commerce websites.

Lab42 was founded in 2010 by entrepreneurs who saw then current market research as too expensive, too slow, and too inaccurate. It sells a suite of market research services.

For more see: http://lab42.com/

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