GfK is thinking BIG, and this means an improved way of talking with our clients.

We have moved to http://blog.gfk.com/blog/category/technology/  So we will no longer be communicating from this blog.

The first eReaders were released in 1998: NuroMedia launched the Rocket and SoftBook released the Softbook reader. The somewhat basic design allowed the user to read an eBook in its simplest form – namely black text on a light background. Both readers also included a built-in dictionary. Holding approximately 10 books, the devices were the same size as the popular paper-back format, but much thicker than subsequent eReaders and with minimal functionality. [1]

14 years on, eBooks and other devices that support eReaders have significantly evolved and are changing the way we consume books.

With the abundance of devices, from the Amazon Kindle to the Tablet PC, the eBook is now available in many formats. The volume and range of devices have made eBooks more accessible and consequently, reading habits have not only changed but we are reading more. Questions we asked in our omnibus survey support this, revealing 29% of all online adults[2] believe their reading has increased in the previous 18 months, and will continue to increase in the next 18 months.

With most research focusing on high-involvement product categories (such as cutting-edge products and ‘sexy’ brands), managers of low-involving products often struggle to get their brands noticed; the same rules just don’t apply. This article explores the factors that may influence consumers’ purchase decisions in what could be seen as emotionless product categories. How can marketers begin to re-engage their audiences?    

What is a Low-Involvement Product Category?

Some products may not excite all consumers. For example, for me (and I believe a lot of others),  insurance and antivirus software aren’t particularly inspiring. When selecting products in categories of little interest, consumers are unlikely to spend time assessing which brand to buy because to them, their final purchase decision is of comparatively little importance.  Instead, they may act by habit or simply buy what is top of mind. Their lack of motivation to actively weigh up the pros and cons of the brands means that any actual feelings of like or dislike are often based on subconscious factors.

Chargers are an inevitable result of ubiquitous consumer electronics. There are phone chargers, tablet chargers, iPod chargers, laptop chargers, and the extension cables required to support them all. At one stage, it became so complicated that the EU stepped in, passing legislation to make all phone chargers identical[1]. But despite this move, we need a lot of wires to keep our devices blazing away.

Yet wireless power transfer has been around in one form or another since the late 1800s, when individuals like Nikola Tesla began experimenting with the technology and demonstrating its feasibility. Since then, the technology has continued to evolve although never truly becoming a widespread feature of consumer electronics. However, all that might be about to change due to a confluence of events necessitating new approaches to old problems.

TV is in the middle of a technology revolution which has the potential to completely change the TV-viewing culture and experience. A range of technologies is contributing to this revolution including Connected TV, HDTV, 3DTV, time-shifted viewing and the ability to watch TV programs on a number of devices.

These are having a significant impact on how TV manufacturers, established broadcasters, advertisers and researchers engage with their target audiences. The capacity to entice consumers to vote, bet and buy (via tablets and smartphones) while watching TV means that the global TV landscape is offering broadcasters and brands new and unique business opportunities.

There’s an app for just about everything

‘There’s an app for that’ – with thousands of new smartphone apps being developed every day, this phrase (coined by Apple in 2009) is beginning to seem a reality.  Our research indicates that 80% of smartphone users have experienced downloading and using apps. However, with today’s fast paced technology market, there are signs that apps are already moving into a new phase.

The future is smarter, connected and integrated apps

So far, apps have successfully extended the functionality of smartphones. Instagram is a great example, giving smartphone-camera users a whole new experience when taking photos. Yet apps have their limitations. Most tend to work in isolation and there is currently limited ability to link and connect different apps. The future of apps will depend on their ability to work seamlessly together to provide a rich and integrated experience.

Tech brands inevitably want to understand what our future technologies might look like and what we might want of them.  As such, much of our time as market researchers is spent exploring how technology can meet consumer needs both from a shorter and longer-term perspective.  Of course, innovation is often developed incrementally. Much of the success of Apple, for example, is arguably based less on groundbreaking ideas and rather on the excellent execution of existing technologies.  Yet, as technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous and devices are less about specific functions and more about general enablers (think basic mobile device versus smartphone), the task of understanding how technology devices and services will be used in the future gets ever more complex.

Recent findings on the quality of service provided by UK mobile operators, broadband, landline and TV providers reveal that more than one in three call centre or email support interactions leave customers either indifferent or unhappy with the experience[1].

If we stick our necks out and factor in contact frequencies over the course of a year and gross up to represent the UK adult population, this equates to somewhere around 30 million missed opportunities to create closer bonds with customers. Disappointing customer service is often highlighted as a key driver of customer churn, so the billions (yes, billions!) these customers spend each year with their telecoms providers represent a nice little carrot for those providers who most effectively address this problem.

When Apple launched the iPad in 2010, tablet PC’s emerged as a revolutionary consumer gadget; by 2011 the tablet market was worth US$35.3 billion (£22.5 billion)[1]. The iPad remains dominant in this market, with other tablets such as BlackBerry PlayBook, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HP Touchpad, and Motorola Xoom entering the market with varying degrees of success. There’s no doubt the tablet has become a sought after consumer product, and many expected them to take the enterprise market by storm and become a valuable business tool…but has this actually happened? And if not, why not?

Tablets remain a ‘third’ device

The timing would seem perfect for tablets. An increasingly mobile workforce requires cutting-edge devices to enable them to both work remotely and productively anywhere, at any time, and to serve the needs of their personal lives. Tablets look well positioned to provide exactly that, and yet usage hasn’t spread as quickly through the business world as it has for consumers. But why?