Survey reveals MP3 player shopping habits

A survey conducted at the end of November for Sigmatel, a company which provides imbedded technologies which help run a wide range of MP3 players currently in the market, may have revealed why popular players like the iPod were so hard to find during Christmas. The main reason: an increased demand beyond the “early adopter” crowd is propelling his category of product more mainstream.

The telephone survey of over 650 Americans revealed at the time that around one in six between the ages of 18 and 35 already owned a player. Moving into the holiday shopping season and beyond, 20 percent of that same age bracket said they were considering buying a player within the next six months.

59 percent of those surveyed in general said they were thinking of giving MP3 players as gifts.

The results on number one consideration when making a purchasing decision seemed to vary. According to the survey, price became the number one factor for those without a player already at home. For those looking to upgrade however, increased storage capability (which can tend to lead to higher prices) was the more important consideration.

One other interesting tidbit from the survey indicated MP3 player owners currently prefer ripping music from their CD collections over other ways of getting music.