New research shows cheapest is not how we choose on over 50% of purchases

When choosing a new laptop you have various elements to weigh up but how many of us end up choosing probably the most expensive on their wish list rather than the cheapest? In these days of mass shopping comparison sites we are all tunnel vision into thinking that we always gravitate towards the cheapest but research shows us that is not the case in a surprisingly large number of purchases.
By way of example, here is a real-life account from a recent piece of research done by OSC Ltd. The study excerpt is of just one purchase event but is reflective of over half of purchase events studied.
The purchaser was looking for a good specification inexpensive laptop, the critical factors we maximum RAM for a 32bit operating system and dual core processor - it did not need to be a specific brand of processor. The other factors we screen size of around 13inches and long battery life along with a very large HDD.
The purchaser lined up 7 separate models from brands such as Acer, Asus, Dell, Panasonic, Alienware, Toshiba and Lenovo (HP was also in there) - He avoided Apple as he wanted a PC specifically. The prices ranged from as low as £399 right up to £1250. The only comparison he did was to find the best deal available for each of the seven separate models.
What is interesting about this study is that he chose the Dell, which came in at £1100 (with the extra software) (£950 without it). This was nearly the most expensive choice to make but having questioned the motivation is came firmly down to the brand and support service.
In summary, the key buying factor for our respondents looking for the a cheap laptop deal was not price, it should be noted that each respondent generally sought the best deal for the model they decided on but their choice was not the cheapest overall product available, it was how "trusted" the brand was and how familiar they were with the after sales support service.
What does this tell us? It tells us that manufacturers should place more emphasis on the reliability and robustness of their telephone and online based support services as this is proving to be a much stronger buying influencer than previously thought.
 

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