El Segundo, Calif. — More than half of all U.S. LCD TV purchasers recently surveyed by market research firm iSuppli said environmental issues influenced their decisions in selecting a set.
iSuppli’s monthly U.S. TV Consumer Preference Analysis survey conducted in April shows that 27.5 percent of LCD TV buyers listed green factors as important influences in their purchasing decisions.
An additional 23.1 percent said that they looked for green features when buying an LCD TV, but those features
were not an important consideration in the overall purchasing decision.
“More than half of U.S. LCD TV buyers are paying attention to environmental features, making ‘green’ a key selling point that needs to be highlighted wherever possible in branding and marketing efforts,” stated Rhoda Alexander, iSuppli monitors and sustainability director.
“Even amid the current economic downturn, a growing number of consumers are selecting products for their environmentally friendly features. iSuppli’s U.S. TV Consumer Preference Analysis indicates there is a much higher level of green influence on television purchases than many television brands had expected. They also point to substantial differences in how effectively different brands are tapping into environmentally-conscious consumers.”
Among the top four brands in April, iSuppli said Sony and LG saw the highest incidence of purchasers citing green factors as an important influence on their purchase decisions, each receiving about 37 percent of comments.
Conversely, fewer than 23 percent of Samsung and Vizio customers cited green factors as an important influence, iSuppli said.
Additionally, the study showed that awareness levels were highest for those purchasing premium brands and fell off markedly on the value brands, with store brands showing the lowest levels of green issues awareness.
iSuppli said that as the size of the set increased, sensitivity to green features rose as well, with purchasers of 50-inch and larger sets showing the highest levels of interest. More than 39 percent of these customers listed green features as an important consideration.
Power savings and Energy Star were the most frequently mentioned “green” features, with more than 40 percent of respondents indicating their television set incorporated one or both of these and only modest variations between the categories and technologies.
The responses on recyclability and toxin-free components and manufacturing were identical, highlighting the close relationship between toxicity and recyclability. Fewer than 16 percent of respondents highlighted recyclability as a feature on their purchase.
