According to a new Gamer Lifestyle Study by Giant Realm, three-quarters (75%) of respondents have at least one gaming console in their home. The survey found that gamers have active social lives. In fact, gamers are more likely than non-gamers to go out to eat, check out movies and hit the dating scene – suggesting that contrary to popular belief, gamers as a whole aren’t overweight, acne-ridden young men who have a penchant for junk food and have a shrinking circle of anti-social friends. Instead, the survey suggests that gamers are community influencers and leaders.

Other key points of the survey include:

• More than half of gamers (57%) say they are the first one asked by family and friends about the latest video game releases, movie releases, TV shows to watch and their opinion on electronics and computers
• Two-thirds (67.4%) of gamers have gone out with friends in the past week, compared to 54.9% of non-gamers.
• Gamers are more likely than non-gamers to use a number of personal care/grooming products, including deodorant, shaving products, body wash, disposable razors and hair grooming/styling products.
• Gamers are even more likely than non-gamers to hit the gym (28.1% vs. 22.1%).
• One-third of gamers have gone out on a date in the past week compared to only one-quarter of non-gamers (35.6% vs. 25.1%).

In addition, gamers actively seek out online reviews on a variety of products, including video games, movie releases, electronic and computer gadgets and more. A quarter of gamers (25%) claim they have written an online review, and among gamers 25-34 years who can be categorized as “heavy gamers” a third (33%) have written an online review.

“Gamers are the leaders and innovators of today,” said James Green, President of Giant Realm. “They are social, they are more active online than any other segment of society and they are more likely to influence their peers than the other way around.”

The Gamer Lifestyle Study, Giant Realm, Inc. 25 Mar. 2010.  Web.  29 Mar. 2010.

Even though the iPad isn’t officially available yet, awareness is strong among certain key demographic groups, according to a new report by The NPD Group.  NPD’s Apple iPad: Consumers’ Perceptions and Attitudes report found that awareness is highest among current Apple owners, (82%), consumers with $100,000 or greater income (80%), and 18-34 year olds (78%).

Those demographic groups are the ones with the most interest in buying an iPad. Only 18% of all consumers surveyed expressed a real interest in owning an iPad while 27% of 18-34 year olds and 24% of Apple owners said they were extremely or very interested.

One of the main reasons Apple owners are interested in the iPad is because it’s an Apple product.  Thirty-seven percent cited “liking the Apple brand” as a top reason for their interest in the iPad.  That tied with “multi-touch screen”, which was also the number one reason driving interest among 18-34 year olds.  The 18-34 year old consumer is also the most likely to play music and access the internet on the iPad.

“The most interested potential iPad customers see it primarily as a music device, or for its internet access capabilities,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD.  “Considering what people are planning to use the iPad for, it’s not hard to understand why people who have these capabilities on other devices, such as the iPod Touch or a notebook/netbook, may not want to spend $500 or more on a similar device.  This points to the need for Apple to close the content deals that focus the iPad on what is likely to be its best long-range value proposition around high quality media consumption.”

For some consumers, and even among Apple owners, the prospect of spending $500 or more for a new device that doesn’t yet have a clear advantage over their other primary devices is unappetizing. Among the tech-savvy 18-34 year old demographic, 57% cited price as the number one reason they aren’t ready to buy; that’s 25% more than the overall percentage of non-interested buyers. Among Apple owners, 43% felt that the pricing was too expensive.  But it’s not the price tag alone that’s making the iPad seem too expensive to these non-interested buyers.  The other factor is that they are equating the iPad to a notebook or netbook replacement.  Among 18-34 year olds and current Apple product owners “rather use a notebook or netbook instead” was cited by 51% and 44% respectively of those demographics as a reason not to buy.

Even those key demographics who expressed the most interest in the iPad aren’t making a strong commitment to purchase an iPad in the near future and that mirrors what overall consumers are saying.  When asked what the likelihood of purchasing an iPad in the next six months was, 9% of all consumers surveyed said they were “extremely or very likely” to do so, as did 10% of 18-34 years olds and 9% of Apple owners.  But there were a greater number of consumers who were “not very likely” or “not likely at all” to purchase an iPad in the next six months.  Sixty-six percent of both the all consumers surveyed and 18-34 year olds don’t foresee an iPad purchase in their future, and 60% of Apple owners felt the same way.

Apple iPad: Consumers’ Perceptions and Attitudes, The NPD Group. 26 Mar. 10.  Web.  29 Mar. 10.

Serge Matta, comScore executive vice president believes the e-reader/table device category possesses the ability to be “incredibly disruptive to the way consumers currently access digital content.” Many analysts have predicted that 2010 will be the breakout year for e-reader devices.  The early adopter segment of the consumer market bought early versions of e-readers such as Amazon’s Kindle but these purchasers comprised less than 10% of the total market.

comScore data indicates that e-reader devices are poised to become mainstream with large numbers of consumers ready to own the latest CE gadget. Here are statistics on consumer intent to purchase an e-reader, by type, in the next several months:

• Amazon Kindle 14%
• Apple iPad 15%
• Barnes & Noble Nook 10%
• Sony Reader 9%
• Samsung Papyrus 8%

As I’ve noted before when blogging on this topic, analysts expect digital content such as newspapers and magazines to appear in a big way on e-readers. Over half of consumers who own these devices indicate a willingness to pay for subscription content.  The interest in paying for e-content is somewhat associated with age. Over 2/3’s of consumers under age 35 say they’ll pay for content.

What features will marketers be promoting for their e-readers? In some ways, they should advertise what consumers are looking for:

• Ability to use multiple applications/programs simultaneously: 43%
• Screen size should be as large as a laptop: 37%
• Device should contain a built-in camera: 34%

Consumers indicate they would be likely to engage in the following activities if they owned an iPad:

• Browse the Internet: 50%
• Email: 48%
• Listen to music: 38%
• Read books: 37%
• Read newspaper/magazines: 34%

Marketing for e-reader devices as well as content distributed via those devices should grow rapidly during 2010.  In particular, watch for device manufacturers to develop partnerships or stake out specific demographics to protect market share in order to stall the iPad’s rise to dominance.

[Source: Lipsman, Andrew. comScore Releases Results of Study on Apple iPad and E-Reader Consumer Attitudes, Behaviors and Purchase Intent. comScore.com 22 Mar. 2010. Web. 6 Apr. 2010]

It’s been a rough 10 years or so for the consumer retail desktop market, but according to new data from leading market research company The NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service, this new decade is off to a booming start.

Desktop sales in February increased 30% in units and 33% in dollars year-over-year.  In fact, February marks the third time in the last four months that desktop revenue grew faster than notebooks, and the fifth consecutive month of desktop revenue and unit increases.  Average selling prices climbed almost 3% versus February 2009 to $670 and were far above the notebook/netbook ASP of $602.

“Desktops have been the surprise consumer technology growth category of 2010,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis, NPD.  “Desktop growth has come from both PCs and Macs.  Windows 7 has been propelling the PC side of the market where desktop ASPs have been higher than notebook/netbook ASPs in three of the last four months. We are also seeing tremendous growth numbers from the iMac after a few lackluster quarters from Apple.”

Windows desktops saw a 15% rise in units and an 8% increase in dollars over the four months since Windows 7 launched.  This increase, while modest, is a positive trend considering that prior to the introduction of Windows 7 desktop sales declined 21 out of 22 months.

Stephen Baker.  Retail Tracking Service. The NPD Group.  18 Mar. 2010.  Web.  18 Mar. 2010.