Canstar Blue has recently run an independent survey on the spending habits of new parents on their strollers and came up with a few surprises.
Before we go too far, I’ll let you in on a little more about Canstar Blue so you know where the information comes from. Canstar Cannex is the premier retail finance information researcher in Australia and New Zealand for over 350 institutions through the finance sector, and in July 2010 they launched Canstar Blue, their little sister as it were.
Canstar Blue run regular surveys that measure and track Australian consumer satisfaction. This will help consumers to make the best informed decisions for their purchasing needs. It will also help them to put all the competitors together for comparisons.
Canstar Blue researches, compares and rates the products on the basis of customer satisfaction and the results are freely available to consumers who are encouraged to use the ratings as a guide to product excellence. They commission Colmar Brunton to survey 2,500 Australian consumers every few months on a range of categories.
So that’s what they do and, to an extent, how they do it. Now lets get onto what they did this time.
These results are the outcomes reported by those within the survey group who have purchased a stroller within the past 3 years.
The findings show that one in four parents is happy to pay upwards of $600 for a luxury pram for their precious cargo.
“It is interesting that such a substantial number of Australians are splurging on top of the range strollers during a period of cautious consumer sentiment,” said Canstar Blue Manager Rebecca Logan.
Overall Maclaren was the brand that survey respondents were most satisfied with and this just proves that luxury stroller models in Australia are popular even though the price tags are a little larger.
Surprisingly, actually no not that surprising at all, is the fact that men are more likely to go out and splurge on a top of the range stroller. Over 27% of men surveyed said that they had spent over $600 on a luxury pram compared with 22% of women.
The survey also showed that there is a shift in buying habits with the old habits of going into a store and checking it out declining rapidly in the face of one stop buying shops. 16% of survey respondents have taken the thriftier option of buying secondhand and 15% choosing to buy their strollers online.
The survey also confirmed that bulkiness, difficulty unfolding and lack of storage compartments are among the top pet gripes of Australian’s about their strollers.
Overall satisfaction, compactness and weight were taken out by British brand Maclaren, which also shared first place with Mothercare for safety. Price was taken out by global company Mothercare.
The Most Satisfied Customers Award for Strollers was awarded to Maclaren.
Other stroller brands to have rated reasonably well are Steelcraft, Babylove, Valco and Love N Care.
The full Canstar Blue results are available at www.canstarblue.com.au
So, the question is – would you splurge on a stroller?
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
A decent stroller will definitely save your sanity!