Veteran buyers spurn retailers

Consumer PC buyers are likely to avoid retailers for repeat purchases in favour of direct or mail order, after getting their fingers burnt with over-expensive warranties.

Repeat PC buyers opt for one-year warranties instead of the average 1.8-year warranty favoured by first-time buyers, an Inteco survey reveals.

Two-thirds of respondents who bought from Dixons and Currys were first-time buyers. Thirty-five per cent of repeat buyers bought direct or by mail order, compared with 24 per cent of first-time buyers.

The British spend twice as much on warranties as the French or the Germans. The percentage of total system cost spent on warranties is 5.1 per cent in the UK, compared with 2.7 per cent in France and 2.2 per cent in Germany. In high street shops it rises to 9.4 per cent at Dixons and 11.5 per cent at Currys.

Pete Day, senior consultant at Inteco, said: ?Repeat buyers take more notice of PC magazine reviews and less notice of sales staff. This is consistent with their channel choice and obviously influences their decisions about warranties.

?Certain channels are very good at persuading new buyers to take out an extended warranty, but they can?t rely on this for ever. Under five per cent of people buying home PCs are doing so for the first time.?

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• eCommerce