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Navigating choice overload: How global consumers make product decisions in a sea of similarly priced options
When it comes to purchase decisions, price is often just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, savvy shoppers often weigh a range of factors when making their purchase decisions, especially when choosing between multiple variations of a product with similar price points. From warranty to sustainability and ethics, a new YouGov Surveys: Serviced poll explores the various factors that can make all the difference in the fierce competition for shoppers' wallets.
Data from the study reveals that when deciding between similarly priced product variations, more than half of global consumers are likely to be influenced by a product’s warranty period (55%) followed by nearly two-fifths who say they are likely to factor in sustainability factors (39%) and a product’s place of origin (37%).
A closer look at some key markets across the world reveals some interesting similarities and differences.
Consumers in India (61%) and Great Britain (57%) are significantly likelier than their Nordic (Denmark, 48%; Sweden, 46%) and American (48%) neighbors to be influenced by a product’s warranty period.
One out of two consumers in India say their purchase decisions are likely to be swayed by the sustainability of a product’s material and packaging when choosing between similarly priced products (52%). However, this proportion falls to less than a third of consumers in the US (29%)
The Danes are the least likely of all consumers to take into consideration their ability to repair a product themselves (18%). On the other hand, consumers in India are almost twice as likely to do the same (35%).
While an almost equal share of consumers in Denmark (20%), Sweden (23%) and the US (23%) say they are likely to factor in the working conditions of those involved in a product’s manufacturing process when trying to decide between multiple products with similar price points, this proportion rises to almost half amongst consumers in India (47%).
A further look at the global data by age demographic reveals that older consumers are markedly likelier to fall back on a product’s warranty period to make the choice between similarly priced products.
Consumers aged 55 and above are also far likelier than their 18-34-year-old and 35-54-year-old counterparts to be influenced by a product’s place of origin (46%, 31% and 36% respectively).
On the other hand, more than two-fifths of our 18-34-year-old respondents say they are likely to take into account sustainability factors while deciding between similarly priced product options (42%) compared to nearly three out of eight respondents above the age of 55 (37%) who say the same.
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 512 and 2,034 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in February 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.
Photo by Dmitry Vechorko on Unsplash