Over three-quarters of Romanians (77%) declare that they would be open to choosing smart appliances, but explain that high prices are a barrier to the purchase decision, according to a study conducted by Reveal Marketing Research. The study shows that 79% of consumers choose appliances based on price while performance ranks second.
The study was conducted on Romanians’ purchasing behaviour towards appliances by analysing the important selection criteria and the openness of consumers to investing in smart products.
Romanians are willing to pay the most for appliances such as washing machine, TV and espresso machine. Household appliances are becoming an indispensable commodity for consumers, as they meet essential needs for good life quality.
Although more than half of Romanians say they choose based on performance, only 19% say they would buy more expensive brands and consider it worthwhile to invest in high-quality products. Washing machines (32%), TVs (33%), and coffee machines (25%) are the main appliances for which respondents would be willing to pay more to enjoy better quality.
More than half of Romanians (53%) would choose brands with medium prices, but find it important to find a balance between quality and price. Consumers are looking for such brands, especially for vacuum cleaners (64%), stoves (60%), refrigerators (60%), microwave ovens (60%), or blenders (59%). This trend is reflected in the most relevant criteria in the purchase decision. The performance ranks second in importance, being mentioned by 61% of respondents where 79% of Romanians say that price is the main criterion for choosing appliances.
Only 15% of respondents say they would opt for cheaper brands and do not think it is worth investing heavily in these products. The mixer (22%), the hairdryer (22%), the iron (20%), or the hood (17%) are products for which Romanians would sacrifice high quality in order to pay a lower price.
The purchase of smart appliances is a paradox for Romanians, they would choose to buy them in order to reduce energy costs but are not willing to invest the initial amount for long-term savings.
In addition to price and performance, 50% of Romanians mentioned that the purchase decision also includes the energy consumption of household appliances. This is the reason why most consumers (77%) would be willing to invest in smart appliances, of which 62% would invest only to reduce their electricity costs and 48% believe that these devices are more efficient than conventional ones.
The high price would be the reason why Romanians (78%) stop buying smart appliances. Only 12% of Romanians consider that they are not useful, and only 10% believe that they are difficult to use.
The survey was based on 1,004 online interviews were conducted with respondents over the age of 18, online users, on a nationally representative urban and rural sample between February 18-22, 2021. Sampling error +/- 3%.