Home.co.uk
Home.co.uk

News: Electronics lead the UK home shopping list

Consumer electronics dominates the interior look of the modern home as Britons prepare to connect their homes to the digital age. Advertising for digital TV switchover has started digital awareness in a wide age group and at the same time, Britain’s teenagers are spearheading a mobile phone and iPod demand.

Across all age groups, technology accounted for five of the top 10 home purchases – with mobile phones, MP3 players, DVD players, flat screen TVs and computers all featuring.

The Legal & General study of a GB representative sample of over 5,000 people in July 2006, provides a guide to what people have bought for their homes over the previous three months. More than seven in 10 people (71%) had bought items for their home or garden in the last three months.

Top 10 items bought for the home in the last three months

Bedding / cushions

19%

Mobile phone

18%

DVD player / recorder

15%

iPod

13%

Curtains

13%

Lighting

13%

Flat screen TV

10%

Computer

10%

Power tools

10%

Carpets

9%

Young people (18-20 year olds) are spearheading the demand for electronic goods and this has led to an increase in the value of home contents. The estimated cost that teenagers place on the value of replacing the contents in the home is higher than that of people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

Total estimated value of home contents by age group

Demand for electronic goods

Age group

£13,746

18-20

£11,156

20-29

£12,678

30-39

£14,546

40-49

£16,537

50+

Regional highlights

The Legal & General research also highlighted that around the regions, there were some marked differences in the goods people bought for their home.

People in the North East bought the most things for their home in the last three months (average 3.15 items per person), whereas people in the Borders, the West Country and London bought the fewest items (1.45, 2.15 and 2.29 respectively).

Scotland emerged as the gadget capital of the UK – 37% of people in the North of Scotland and 31% in Central Scotland having purchased portable electronic items in the last three months. Yet people just south of the Border were the least likely to have purchased electronic devices, (17 %) or home entertainment systems, (20%).

Electrical equipment for the kitchen was highest in the South West at 32%.

People in Wales were most likely to have bought items for the garden, (21%) - enjoying those record temperatures.

Garry Skelton, marketing director at Legal & General’s general insurance business commented: “While the research suggests consumer buying for the home is strong, the findings also point to an alarming gap when it comes to protecting the valuable items people have bought.”

“Although more than seven in 10 people (71%) have purchased items for the home in the last three months, only one in four (25%), have reviewed their home contents insurance cover during that same period.”

 

Back to: News Index