AMD Study Determines Problems With PC Selection Process

The results of an AMD research study disseminated on Tuesday reveal that approximately a quarter of potential customers find the process of buying a new PC confusing.

The study of PC purchasing habits of North American consumers, conducted by Zogby International, found that knowledge of technology was the main source of discomfiture for the 23 percent of respondents confused by the process.

"AMD conducts research to make sure that our partners -- which include retailers and OEM partners -- are getting what they want," said Tracey Carroll, director of North American marketing at AMD. ’There’s a great opportunity for AMD and our retail and OEM partners to help bring clarity to the purchasing process and ensure end-users understand the technology they’re investing in."

Carroll said AMD commissioned the study in order to determine whether the company needs to do a better job of educating end users on the technical details and the implications of the options before them.

"We found that the industry still has a problem translating the 'how' to the 'what,' going from the speeds and feeds to figuring out what this means for customers using PCs for social networking or sharing videos," Carroll said. "We want to make sure the consumers have kept up with that."

The study revealed that while almost a third of consumers "love" the PC shopping experience, the majority view the process as a necessity. Perhaps not surprisingly then, respondents said performance and pricing were their priorities in the selection process, while only one percent of those surveyed said appearance was the most important factor.

Regardless of whether this leads to the devaluation of design considerations among OEMs, Carroll believes others in the computer industry ought to pay attention to issues of consumer clarity. "Our findings show that this really needs to be an industry-wide movement," she said.

Motives aside, AMD's study found that 80 percent of participants had recently invested or planned to invest in a PC in the coming twelve months.

However, these solid growth figures could also be part of the problem, according to Carroll. Higher sales numbers means better margins and lower prices in the PC line, creating more choices for consumers, which in turn adds more confusion.

Next: AMD Offers Remedies

AMD says it's taking measures to simplify a confusing process, rather than simply measure the extent of confusion. The survey is part of a three-year-campaign, currently in its second year, AMD's Vision Technology that allows users to choose between various brands based on how they use their systems, rather than trying to make sense of technical specifications.

Carroll said Vision simplifies the buying process for VARs as well, since Vision is based on CPU and GPU combination, which offers custom builders and other AMD partners' better value than discrete graphics does.

"We've taken huge strides to simplify the process," Carroll said. "This year, we've been able to bring three times more notebook platforms to market with Vision and we've introduced Vision to desktops."

According to a press release, Vision combines online training sites, in-market field sales, training incentives, and promotions to ensure that its retail associates can address consumers' concerns. It also involves a tiering system with three tiers that combine cutting-edge processing and video capability to distinguish different customers' needs.

"Vision tiering says if you're doing everyday computing, this system is good for you. If you're doing graphics intensive computing there's another system for you," Carroll said.

Carroll said some customers were concerned about simplicity because they buy their systems online in order to custom-build them. According to the study, customers who felt more comfortable purchasing online also tended to be younger, which Carroll said may result in a long-term shift in PC distribution strategy.

"We’re going to need to adjust our communications plan," she said.