February 01, 2004

By: Yannick Allan
Website: http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com

Technologies with clear benefits will win this holiday season

Wireless cellular phones, digital still cameras, and DVD players look poised for relative success this holiday shopping season, according to marketing research firm Ipsos-Reid. Findings from a recent Ipsos-Reid survey indicate that smaller-ticket items that have already attracted positive word-of-mouth will appeal to consumers who may be more cautious this season.

"It comes as no real surprise, given the economy now compared to the economy just two years ago, that the newness of a technology has become much less important than its practicality-the way it fits into a person's life, how easy it is to use, and whether its cost matches its perceived benefit," said Tom Neri, President of Ipsos-Reid Marketing Research in the U.S. "Price will be an issue, but also important will be how well the benefits of a given technology have been communicated to the public. We're already seeing this in some of the early-season sales figures that have been released."

Asked to indicate which technologies (from a list of 11) they were most likely to buy in the next 3 months, respondents rated wireless phones (26%), digital still cameras (24%), and DVD players (24%) as the items they are the most likely to acquire.

Also See: Motorola cell phone ring tones.

Author Notes:

Yannick Allan contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com.  A cellular phone industry resource featuring articles, comparisons and reviews of cellular phone and service plans.