CMR Study Reveals Consumers are Prioritizing Audio Quality Over Camera in their Smartphone Purchase

 Consumer Study 

* Indians consider audio quality as one of the most important factors in their next smartphone purchase with a score of 66 out of 100, followed by battery life at 61, and camera at 60

As per a new study by CyberMedia Research (CMR), Indian Consumers are now prioritising audio quality as a key smartphone purchase driver ahead of camera and battery. In fact across all parameters one in every four users have stated audio quality as the most important factor while selecting their smartphone. For the first time ever, consumers are more tuned into ‘audio quality’, possibly driven by long hours spent alone in a homebound economy. In doing so, they are also seeking better, immersive experiences.

“Given the advancements in smartphone camera and battery, I believe consumers are mostly satisfied with industry-leading innovations therein. On the other hand, in the current homebound economy, consumers are getting more aware, and paying more heed to audio quality. As such, they are putting it on priority for the neo normal, from a communication and content consumption point of view,” said Satya Mohanty, Head-Industry Consulting Group, CMR.

According to Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, “These interesting study findings provide us with a basis to better understand evolving consumer aspirations around smartphone audio. Consumers are now seeking infinitely better and immersive listening experiences, whenever and wherever they go. Across use cases, ranging from OTT consumption to mobile gaming & even UGC, consumers seek more high-quality sound. This is where brands with industry-leading innovations, such as Dolby, will stand to shine and fulfill consumer aspirations.”

The CMR study titled “What Audio Means for Indian Smartphone users?” categorizes Indian consumers, based on their audio consumption patterns, into three broad cohorts:

* Digital Natives who spend >20 hours weekly (39%)

* Digital Dependents who spend 10-20 hours weekly (44%)

* Digital Laggards who spend < 10 hours weekly (17%)

Online content consumption – movies and music, have witnessed a tremendous growth, driven by the ubiquitous smartphones. Over the past few years, the rise of affordable and value for money smartphones has fueled content consumption, on-the-go, and at home.

India loves to binge watch on video streaming platforms, cutting across genres, including episodic content and user-generated video content on social media. In the midst of the pandemic, OTT platforms are benefiting from increased viewership, as well as new subscribers. Amongst the three cohorts, Digital Natives tend to spend more time on OTT platforms & rate audio as the most important factor considered while buying their current smartphone. 

Here are some of the most interesting study findings:

* Audio quality matters. Indians consider audio quality as one of the most important factors in their next smartphone purchase with a score of 66 out of 100, followed by Battery Life at 61, and Camera at 60. Smartphone users consume audio mostly through

* listening to music on popular audio OTT platforms (94%),

* watching video – movies, OTT content, or user-generated content on social networks (96%).

* Preferred audio accessories include wired earplugs and earbuds. 78% of the consumers prefer wired earplugs, while 65% indicate using earbuds.

* Video consumption differ with consumer personas. For instance, Digital Natives prefer videos of shorter duration (38%) whereas Digital Laggards prefer videos of longer duration (23%).

* Better audio experience means differently to different consumer personas. For instance, Digital Laggards associate better audio experience to voice and dialogue clarity (69%), whereas Digital Natives associate it to an immersive experience (61%).

* Five in every eight users (62%), use audio during gaming. 72% of those users are satisfied with it.

* Indians more tuned to audio problems. Three in every seven users face some problems in smartphone audio on a regular basis. Problems faced include

* Audio being too soft (33%)

* Audio being too loud (30%)

* Distorted audio (24%)

Note for Editors:

The CMR study titled “What Audio Means for Indian Smartphone Users?” is based on a digital survey covering 1012 respondents, across six cities of India, namely New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, covering the age groups of 18 to 40, and socio-economic levels of SEC A and B. The study was conducted in early to late July 2020.

For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size, there is 95% confidence that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3% of what they would be if the entire population had been surveyed.

To know more, and download the report, visit www.cmrindia.com/shelf

65% of Indian Consumers Express Positive Buying Sentiment in Diwali’20: TRA Whitepaper

 TRA Research, India’s leading consumer insights and brand analytics company, today released a whitepaper titled TRA’s Diwali 2020 Buying Propensity Report gauging the changing buying mindsets and sentiments for the upcoming Diwali in November 2020. 65% of all consumers expressed a Positive Buying Sentiment as compared to now, and 28% felt it would remain the same. The Apparels category was a positive outlier and had the Highest Buying Priority at 3.11 times the average of all other categories. Mobile Phones, Consumer Electronics and Two-wheelers were on Very High Consumer Buying Priority, followed by Home Furniture, Jewellery and TVs, which were on High Priority. The survey was conducted with 503 consumer-influencers across 16 cities between 9th June and 15th July 2020. 

Speaking about report N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research, said that, "Diwali has traditionally been a period of consumption boom as consumers tend to increase spends, and brands scramble to catch their attention. This Diwali will be a deciding factor for many brands, as they prepare trepidatiously for the festive season. This report gives a very good view on which will be the preferred categories for Diwali buying."

"This is good news of course, but the pre-Covid consumer spends were already lower on account of a depressed and strained economy, and a comparison between the consumer household spends between the two Diwalis of 2019 and 2020, show that this year is likely to see 5.1% lesser spends than the previous one,” Chandramouli added. 

‘Medium Consumer Buying Priority’ included Personal Accessories, Cars, Laptops and Kitchen Appliances, while ‘Low Consumer Buying Priority Zone’ includes Travel, Health Insurance and Home Renovation.

The survey results also revealed that online shopping is set to see an unprecedented boom in a post-Covid-19 world. Also, kirana stores or small standalone store, close-by neighbourhood stores, local groceries are the preferred places to shop. Big formats stores like Supermarkets, Hypermarkets, Branded outlets are unlikely to see many visitors, and Malls carry a negative sentiment due to tremendous consumer reluctance despite relaxed norms and promise of better safety. 

Nearly 95% consumers rated Product Quality as the most important influence when making purchases for Diwali 2020 followed by product usefulness (89%), Product Price (88%), Buying Convenience (87%) and Brand Name (86%). Advertising at 71% remains the lowest choice driver for Diwali shopping.

About TRA Research

TRA Research, a Comniscient Group company, is a consumer insights and brand intelligence Company dedicated to understanding and analyzing stakeholder behavior through two globally acclaimed proprietary matrices of Brand Trust and Brand Desire. TRA Research conducts primary research with consumers and stakeholders to assist brands with their business decisions based on Consumer Behaviour insights.

TRA Research is consulting brands on transitioning during and after the Covid-19 crisis, to help them be more aligned to consumer and client expectations. TRA Research is the also the publisher of TRA’s Brand Trust Report and of TRA’s Most Desired Brands.

For more information, please visit www.trustadvisory.info

BSNL rolls out Internet TV services

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd on Wednesday launched its Internet Protocol Television services, which will enable consumers to watch TV channels using their fixed telephone line at home.

The company has launched the service in 10 cities, including Gurgaon in Haryana.

IPTV is a system where an interactive digital television service is delivered over a broadband connection instead of the traditional way of transmitting through a cable network.

Users will also get new services such as video on demand where they can watch their favourite movies for a fee. They can also pause, fast forward and rewind live and recorded content stored on a remotely located server by the service provider.

Since IPTV delivers TV channels in digital form, the quality of TV viewing is expected to be much better as compared to analog transmission.

Broadband link

To avail the service, subscribers will have to take a broadband connection from BSNL and a set-top box for an upfront payment of Rs 2,500. In addition, subscribers will have to pay Rs 280 each month for receiving all 150 channels and Rs 200 for 95 channels.

BSNL launches low-cost mobile phones for rural subscribers

In comparison, DTH subscribers pay over Rs 300 a month for receiving all the channels.

In 98 cities soon

Kuldeep Goyal, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL, said the company plans to roll out IPTV services to 98 cities by end of the current fiscal year. He also said that this will enable BSNL to tap into the growing broadcasting sector.

BSNL has partnered Smart Digivision Pvt Ltd, a company promoted by Mahendra Nahata, Chairman, Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd, to roll out the service in 54 cities.

Goyal said that BSNL will launch its 3G services over the next two months starting from Chennai.

The Smart TV Group, consisting Smart Digivision Pvt Ltd and Smart Broadband Services Pvt Ltd, has entered into long term contracts with MTNL and BSNL for providing co-branded interactive video services in 54 cities.

Source: Agencies