TECH DISPOSABILITY PRESS RELEASE
HEADLINE:
ICR
Poll finds 2 of 3 cell phones or Blackberry/I-Phone device owners plan to replace them within the next
two years.
SUBHEAD:
Poll
finds we are not such a disposable society and we tend to be environmentally conscious
with our gadgets.
Media,
PA Two-thirds of cell phone owners and owners of pda
devices will replace them within the next two years, according to a poll
As
might be expected, the younger generation is more likely to make a change
sooner: 77% of those 18-34 plan to replace the items
within the next two years, vs. 46% of those 65+.
Most
owners 78% - believe they will need to replace within the next 2 years
because the items will break or be lost within that time, while only 19% will
want to upgrade to the latest version.
Upgraders
Regardless
of age, men are more likely to be upgraders than women:
23% of men vs. 14% of women say they will upgrade to the latest version.
A
combination of factors seems to be driving these expectations that cell phones
and PDAs will have to be replaced, said Bob Thomas, Executive Vice
President of ICR. Lack of confidence in
the durability of the product and the experience of losing the phone may be
contributing to the expectation of a relatively short life of these products,
particularly among younger people.
On
the other hand, the percentage who say they want the latest version and will
upgrade as quickly as possible is lower than we expected, suggesting that we
should not rush to label ourselves as a disposable society, said Thomas.
Environmental
consciousness is definitely playing a role when it comes to disposing these types of items , with 61% either donating or recycling. 35% of respondents donate or give away their
used product, while 26% either take to a site or send in the item for
recycling. When it comes
to donating these items, those over 35 are more likely to do so than those
under 35 ( 25%
18-34 vs. 41% for those aged 35+).
And, when it comes to recycling we find the same to be true ( 17% of
18-34 year-olds say theyll take or mail for recycling, vs. 32% of those aged
35+, and as high as 39% for those 55+).
There
appears to be an opportunity to educate all consumers about the need for and
the benefits of recycling phones and I-phones, but particularly the younger
population, said Bob Thomas.
Survey
The
Technology Disposability Survey is based on ICRs EXCEL Omnibus study of 1,000
consumers 18+ interviewed by telephone (including cell phones) November 27-29,
2009. The margin of error is 3% at the
95% confidence level.
The EXCEL Omnibus survey is conducted by phone among 1,000
consumers weekly, includes both cell-phone users and a robust Hispanic
sample As a result, EXCEL represents an
extremely reliable, representative sample based on rigorous sampling and
methodology, and is used extensively not only by ICRs business clients but
also by academic, government and foundation partners.
ICR
is a full-service market research company, providing research solutions
addressing strategic and tactical issues in the US and 90 countries worldwide. For
over 25 years, ICR has designed and implemented many marketing and opinion
research studies among consumers, business professionals, physicians, and
unique government and academic constituents. We provide our clients with
direction in multiple areas, including product development, segmentation, brand
building, advertising effectiveness, customer loyalty and social science
research. For more information about ICR, please visit www.icrsurvey.com or www.ssrs.com .
Contact: Chris Svoboda, csvoboda@icrsurvey.com, 484 840 4321
