Recharger, Lyra Team to Offer Report on Ink Cartridge Buyers
August 18, 2005
Recharger Magazine, in partnership with Lyra Research and Cartridges Are Us, has conducted the first in a series of exclusive studies documenting the buying preferences of consumers.
Know thy customer. It’s the first rule of business. Members of the printer consumables aftermarket now have an independent statistical analysis of consumers’ buying habits and preferences.
Recharger Magazine, in conjunction with leading market research firm, Lyra Research, and sponsor, Cartridges Are Us, has conducted the most comprehensive report ever compiled about consumers' consumption of aftermarket and OEM ink cartridges. The report, Think Ink: The 2005 U.S. Ink Jet Cartridge User Survey, will be available in PDF format for $99 exclusively through Recharger Magazine and Lyra Research (order your copy now at www.lyra.com).
Think Ink: The 2005 U.S. Ink Jet Cartridge User Survey is the first of a two-part series profiling consumers’ inkjet cartridge buying behavior, purchase channels, and usage. A second survey exploring toner cartridge buying behavior, usage, and recycling will be released in December 2005.
“With 1,204 respondents, this is the largest and most comprehensive survey of inkjet cartridge users that we have ever done,” said Jim Forrest, managing editor of Lyra’s Hard Copy Supplies Journal. “The survey not only reaches some conclusions about users of OEM and aftermarket ink cartridges, but also includes users of refill kits and retail refill shops. We were able to segment the survey by brand of printer used and were able to include Dell printer users for the first time.”
Think Ink: The 2005 U.S. Ink Jet Cartridge User Survey includes primary research findings in the following areas:
Market share (Figure 1): What percentage of U.S. consumers have purchased an aftermarket ink cartridge? The survey found that 44 percent of the consumers surveyed reported purchasing an aftermarket cartridge. More good news for aftermarket supplies vendors is that the majority (47 percent) of respondents have not purchased an aftermarket cartridge and 8 percent didn’t know aftermarket cartridges were available. Why is this good news? Fifty-five percent of consumers are potential new clients. Furthermore, the report explores these potential clients’ reasons for not using aftermarket cartridges.
Figure 1.
Buying frequency (Figure 2): How often do consumers buy replacement ink cartridges? The survey data includes information on the purchasing frequency of consumers who buy only OEM cartridges and those who buy both OEM and remanufactured/compatible cartridges. The results show that buyers of both aftermarket and OEM ink cartridges make purchases at least as frequently as those who buy OEM cartridges exclusively. The survey found that respondents who buy both OEM and aftermarket cartridges are more likely to report that they purchase cartridges several times a month (the most frequent choice on the survey) than are respondents who purchase only OEM cartridges.
Figure 2.
New trends (Figure 3): Who uses refill shops and kiosks? The survey found that men (by nearly a two-to-one ratio) who are at least 50 years old with an average income of $25,000 to $50,000 are the key demographic for refill shops and kiosks. Another key finding is that Dell printer owners are more likely than owners of other printer brands to use refill shops.
Figure 3.
“We are very proud to partner with Lyra on this project,” said Phyllis Gurgevich, publisher of Recharger Magazine. “We feel it’s groundbreaking in that it gives companies in our industry, no matter which channels they sell through, an accurate picture of not only who their customers are but what, how, how often, and why consumers purchase printer consumables. We hope people in need of this valuable and, until now, unavailable information will find it extremely useful.”
Other issues covered by Think Ink: The 2005 U.S. Ink Jet Cartridge User Survey include:
- Who buys aftermarket ink cartridges, and where do these people buy them?
- What is the most significant factor driving the purchase of aftermarket ink cartridges?
- In what way does printer brand influence consumers’ cartridge usage and buying behavior?
- How many people are using retail refill shops? What are their demographics?
- How much do consumers print? How satisfied are they with their home printer and supplies?
- Are purchasers of aftermarket cartridges loyal to a brand?
- How many people buy refill kits? How satisfied are they? Why do they buy refill kits?
- What are the demographics of people who buy only OEM cartridges?
“I know we personally have a real need for reliable market research on the ink cartridge buyer,” said Dominic Iocco, general manager of Cartridges Are Us, the official sponsor of Think Ink: The 2005 U.S. Ink Jet Cartridge User Survey. “We wanted to be a part of this report because it will help our customers as well as the entire industry in making strategic business decisions while going forward.”
Report Methodology
The 2005 U.S. Ink Jet Cartridge User Survey was developed to gather a sufficient and representative respondent survey sample among U.S.-based buyers of ink jet cartridges, primarily consumers (business users were not targeted in the recruitment process). Lyra conducted the survey from June 21 to June 27, 2005. The 50-question survey was a self-selecting Web-based instrument focused on collecting detailed information about respondents’ ink jet cartridge purchasing behavior. Respondents were recruited through e-mail newsletter advertising and through banner ads on consumer-targeted Web sites. This broad recruitment strategy yielded 1,204 usable surveys, although the sample size varies for each question because not all respondents answered every question or were asked every question due to question nesting and sequence.
Think Ink: The 2005 U.S. Ink Jet Cartridge User Survey will be available on Aug. 24. To preorder your copy, visit www.rechargermag.com or www.lyra.com, or call Melissa Turner at (617) 454-2612.
