77% of Romanians declare they would be willing to choose smart appliances, but high prices are a barrier in acquisition. A study by Reveal Marketing Research on Romanians’ purchasing behavior regarding the household appliances category

• 77% of Romanians declare they would be open to choosing smart appliances, but high prices are a barrier to the purchase decision.
• Most consumers (79%) choose appliances based on price, while performance ranks second.
• Romanians are willing to choose premium brands for household appliances such as washing machines, TV, or coffee makers.

Today, household appliances are becoming an indispensable commodity for consumers, as they meet essential needs for good life quality. Thus, Reveal Marketing Research conducted a study on Romanians’ purchasing behavior regarding the category of appliances, analyzing the important selection criteria, as well as the openness of consumers to investing in smart products.

Romanians are willing to pay the most for appliances such as washing machine, TV and espresso machine

Although more than half of Romanians say they choose based on performance, only 19% say they would buy more expensive brands and consider it worthwhile to invest in high-quality products. Washing machines (32%), TVs (33%), and coffee makers (25%) are the main appliances for which respondents would be willing to pay more to enjoy better quality.

More than half of Romanians (53%) say they would choose brands with medium prices, considering that it is important to find a balance between quality and price. Consumers are looking for such brands, especially for vacuum cleaners (64%), stoves (60%), refrigerators (60%), microwave ovens (60%), or blenders (59%). This trend is also reflected in the most relevant criteria in the purchase decision. According to Reveal Marketing Research, 79% of Romanians say that price is the main criterion for choosing appliances. The performance ranks second in importance, being mentioned by 61% of respondents.

Only 15% of respondents say they would opt for cheaper brands and do not think it is worth investing heavily in these products. The mixer (22%), the hairdryer (22%), the iron (20%), or the hood (17%) are products for which Romanians would sacrifice high quality in order to pay a lower price.

Acquisition of smart appliances: a paradox for Romanians. Although they would choose them to reduce energy costs, they are not willing to invest the initial amount for long-term savings.

In addition to price and performance, the purchase decision also includes the energy consumption of household appliances, an aspect mentioned by 50% of Romanians. That is why most consumers (77%) even say they would be willing to invest in smart appliances, of which 62% would do so to reduce their electricity costs. 48% of respondents believe that these devices are more efficient than conventional ones. However, what would stop Romanians from buying smart appliances would be their high price, a reason mentioned by 78%. Only 12% of Romanians consider that they are not useful, and only 10% believe that they are difficult to use.

The method used was CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) and 1004 online interviews were conducted with respondents over the age of 18, online users, on a nationally representative urban and rural sample between February 18-22, 2021. Sampling error +/- 3%. Confidence level: 95%.