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Published: Monday January 28, 2013 MYT 5:53:00 PM
Updated: Monday January 28, 2013 MYT 7:03:07 PM

Survey: Not many Malaysians eager to try new products

By TERRENCE TOH


PETALING JAYA: Only a quarter of online Malaysian consumers (25%) consider themselves as early purchasers of new product innovations, a new study by Nielsen's revealed.

According to a survey, the percentage was lower than that of the Asia-Pacific region and global average, which are 38 and 34 percent respectively.

“When it comes to firsthand buying behaviour, consumers often have their reservations on what could happen to the product and its after sales services in the short and mid-term,” said Nielsen Malaysia managing director Richard Hall.

“Although the confidence towards familiar, established and trusted brands does help to ignite the excitement when a brand launches an innovative product, the wait and see attitude adopted by Malaysians is still very much the norm when it comes to actual purchase and usage.”

The Nielsen Global Survey of New Product Purchase Sentiment surveyed more than 29,000 Internet respondents in 58 countries.

About 65% of those surveyed in Malaysia indicated they would wait for a new innovation to prove itself before making a purchase.

The survey also revealed that when it came to priority in brands, 65% of online Malaysian consumers preferred to buy new products from a familiar brand, higher than the Asia Pacific's average of 55%.

Nielsen's review of 21 methods to reach consumers across various media and advertising platforms also showed traditional and word of mouth communications were still the most persuasive ways of driving awareness of new products in Malaysia.

The survey also showed 69% of online Malaysian consumers who use free samples are likely to purchase the new product.

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