Future’s Smart TV research – undertaken in February 2012 by leading market research agency, YouGov – polled over 2500 consumers; a combination of the UK general public and Future’s tech-savvy audience.
2011 has been a notoriously tough year in the television market, but the next 12 months looks to be when the Smart TV’s prosper.
With the introduction of 3DTV to the market there has been a growing demand for a much richer TV experience. Currently 4% of the general public own a 3DTV compared to 10% of the Future tech portfolio. But with an ever-changing market place, Smart TV looks set to dominate.
By the end of 2012, 11% of UK adults look set to own a Smart TV, with current ownership levels predicted to nearly double. Among Future’s tech-hungry consumers the picture is even more positive for the TV manufacturers – with 29% of the Future Tech audience planning to own a Smart TV by the end of 2012.
However, despite this encouraging news, says Future, there are still lots of challenges for manufacturers and retailers. A third of consumers still aren’t aware of Smart TV, with a further 61% not fully understanding what a Smart TV does. Many consumers who are aware still need to be convinced of the merits of accessing the internet and apps on their TV. However, among Future’s audience, knowledge levels are far higher, and crucially one of Future’s tech-savvy consumers on average influence six tech purchases a year.
Other headline findings from the latest Techmonitor’s research include:
• Accessing Films via their TV was the most appealing factor for those in the market – encouraging news for the likes of Netflix, Lovefilm or Blinkbox.
• 1 in 4 are interested in using voice activation technology to control their TV.
• Excitement levels around using apps on their TV are currently low with only 16% of the general public finding this a motivating factor. In contrast among Future’s tech-savvy audience the attraction of apps is far higher.
• Samsung is the clear segment leader and look set to dominate the market, followed by Panasonic and LG.
• Despite not having a market presence at the moment, Apple looks to be a serious challenger if or when it enters the market.
Dan Brilot, Media Consulting Director from YouGov says: “Through this project with Future we’ve really been able to understand specifically what the tech-savvy sections of the consumer market are doing in this space. It’s clear that whilst major events (Euros 2012 and the Olympics) and significant product launches (YouView, Google TV etc.) will drive adoption, manufacturers and advertisers still need to work very hard on making sure the Smart TV proposition is clearer to the wider general public”
Future’s Group Publishing Director Nial Ferguson says: “As the UK’s largest technology publisher, it’s essential that we have a very clear, up-to-date understanding of the technology consumer. This, our fourth Techmonitor study which, in light of the huge Summer of Sport heading our way, has focused specifically on Smart TVs and has delivered some fascinating results that we’re using to focus our content discussions and add even greater value to our commercial partnerships.
As always, it’s clear that the rapid pace of change within the market is now the norm and the worlds obsession with technology simply isn’t going to slow down. Studies like Techmonitor are crucial for understanding the impact of this on the consumer.”
