Technology Transforms Once Luxury Item Into Necessity
The cell phone has surpassed the T.V as a household necessity. Ponder that statistic from the Pew Charitable Trust article on household applicances and you realize how different it is to market to consumers today. Just 42% of Americans feel that a TV is a necessity, while 47% rate their cell phone as that vital. Among 18-29 year olds, only 29% rate the TV a necessity but 59% rate the cell phone as a necessity. We might hypothesize that those same 18-29 year olds use their cell phones for far more than just talking and texting. What once could only be watched on TV-videos, the latest episode of Modern Family, and commercials -all now can be seen on a cell phone.
Implications of these findings for marketers? Different age groups consume media and technology differently. Techonolgy causes changes in media viewing habits. The economy has changed consumer perceptions. In 2006 over 80% of consumers felt that the household dryer was a necessity and today that figure is only 59%. And to demonstrate that consumers perceptions translate to market dynamics, Research and Markets reports that U.S. dryer sales were down almost 4% versus year ago. For more on how consumers perceive household items today see the article below: