Only 2% of British consumers are planning to purchase a 3D-ready television set in the next 12 months, a new report has claimed.
According to research conducted by YouGov for Deloitte, only 89 out of the 4,199 respondents surveyed said that they intended to buy a 3D-enabled TV set over the coming year, reports The Daily Telegraph.
The biggest proportion of consumers willing to invest in a 3D set hailed from the 25-to-34 age group, while over-45s were the least likely to take the plunge.
The limited demand for 3D TVs will be a big blow to manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, LG and Panasonic, which have all recently launched 3D TVs into the UK market.
The situation could change, though, after Sky launches its dedicated 3D channel to residential subscribers on October 1.
Deloitte’s research found that UK consumers were more interested in purchasing high definition television sets, 7% of whom are planning to do so in the next 12 months.
“It is remarkable how conservative people’s predictions for their own technology spending habits over the coming year were,” said Deloitte’s media director Paul Lee.
“They didn’t have to commit to buying anything during the research and yet still predicted very little spend on TV products moving forward.
“Belts have tightened after the economic downturn and with little understanding of what lies ahead, consumers are still being cautious.”
Retailers have not yet reported exact national sales figures for 3D TVs, but John Lewis claimed last month that 15% of its sales of 40inch+ TVs are now 3D models.
Comet’s commercial director Bob Darke said that the electronics retailer has sold “thousands” of 3D-ready sets since they launched earlier this year.
“3D TVs have been selling very well at Comet since their launch, with the biggest spike in May, which we can attribute to the World Cup,” said Drake.
“While the games weren’t shown in 3D it is typically a time where people look to upgrade their set to the best available TV on the market, which at the time and still is 3D.”
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