Device UI Important to Consumers When Making a Purchase: Parks
Ease-of-use and content recommendations are both important to streaming service customers, but at different times in their purchase journeys. Those buying a set-top box or connected TV look to the interface, however content discovery is crucial to keeping customers happy and earning word-of-mouth recommendations.
Parks Associates' research found that an easy-to-navigate UI is crucial for attracting new customers. Asked about UI, 70% of consumer electronics purchasers said ease-of-use was "very important" to them when making a purchase. Ease-of-use is more important to women and older consumers. Apple TV and Roku got strong ratings for their UIs, while Chromecast did poorly.
When looking for something to stream, only 12% use a service's content recommendations as their first step. However, nearly half of OTT customers who recommend their service cite being able to discover new content is one of the top 3 features.
Parks said one-fifth of people cancelling an OTT subscription did so at least partly because they couldn't find anything to watch.
"User experience—particular quality of user experience—is a vital component when it comes to consumer purchasing behavior and word-of-mouth referrals," writes Kristen Hanich, a senior analyst with Parks Associates. "Consumers who are happy with their experience are consumers who purchase products, who subscribe to services, who are loyal to the brand, and who recommend it to others."
Parks got its data by surveying 10,000 head-of-households for broadband-enabled homes in Q1 2019. For more, download UI Preferences and Content Discovery (available for purchase).
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