47% of Americans agree (top-2 box score on a 5-point scale) that they would switch brands for one they believe is higher quality, even if the price is higher, according to results of an online survey released by Ipsos OTX. American respondents appear slightly more likely than the average global respondent across the 25 countries tracked to prioritize quality over price. As can be expected, there are some significant differences when looking at the demographic breakdowns, some more surprising than others.
Among American respondents, those from high-income households (52%) were significantly more likely than those from lower-income households (34%) to say they’d switch to a brand with better perceived quality even given a higher price. Similarly, those with high levels of education attainment (57%) apear more likely to prioritize quality over price than those with low levels of education (41%). It’s not too surprising to see socioeconomic variables emerge as indicators – and it’s also fairly unsurprising to see substantial gaps when comparing business owners to their counterparts (57% vs. 45%) and senior executives and decision-makers to respondents not in those positions (61% vs. 44%).
More intriguing results emerge when looking at age and social media use. Given that Millennials appear to be more frugal than older Americans (at least in their approach to grocery shopping), it’s interesting to see the 18-34 crowd (51%) more likely to prioritize quality over price than the 35-49 (46%) and 50-64 (42%) demos. Intent does not always translate to action, of course, but it’s still a significant discrepancy in attitudes.
Meanwhile, “active” social media users (53%) are much more likely than “inactive” social media users (36%) to agree they’d make the switch, a finding potentially related to age bias in these groups.
Other Findings:
- There was virtually no difference in agreement among genders, though men tended to be slightly stronger in their agreement than women.
- The age gap disappears when widening the sample base to respondents from all 25 countries tracked.
- Among those 25 countries, respondents from Norway (62%) were the most likely to agree that they prioritize quality over price, while those from Japan (25%) were least likely to agree.
About the Data: The research was conducted on the “G@48” wave between August 6-20th, 2013. The monthly Global @dvisor data output is derived from a balanced online sample in 25 countries around the world via the Ipsos Online Panel system. For the results of the survey, an international sample of 18,503 adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, and age 16-64 in all other countries, were interviewed.
Approximately 1000+ individuals participated on a country by country basis via the Ipsos Online Panel with the exception of Argentina, Belgium, Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Turkey, where each have a sample approximately 500+. The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval. In this case, a poll of 1,000 is accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and one of 500 is accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points in their respective general populations. In countries where internet penetration is approximately 60% or higher the data output is weighted to reflect the general population.
