Industry overview
What is shaping electronics
Consumer electronics and appliance buyers research online, compare prices across channels and judge brands on after-sales service as much as on features.
- Purchase journeys blend online research and in-store demos
- E-commerce and modern retail compete on price and delivery
- After-sales service drives repeat purchase
Client background
An e-waste recycling company, working in Eight cities in South Africa & Morocco. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- An e-waste recycling company
- Sector
- Electronics
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Consumer panel, Quantitative research, Content marketing
Client challenge
Most old phones, chargers and appliances were stored at home or sold to informal collectors. The company wanted to understand why and how to encourage responsible recycling.
Research objectives
- Answer the core question: what households do with old electronics.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of households.
- Produce results that can be compared across groups and locations.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 6 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 2,000 households.
- households2,000
Audiences we typically reach in electronics
Appliance and device buyersOwners and usersRetailers and sales staffE-commerce shoppersService technicians
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Eight cities in South Africa & Morocco. Markets: South Africa and Morocco.
- South Africa
- Morocco
Research methodology
A structured quantitative design, so results could be compared across groups, locations and time.
- 1Brief
- 2Household survey
- 3Message testing
- 4Insight
We surveyed households about old devices at home, disposal habits, data privacy concerns and awareness of recycling options, then tested messages encouraging drop-offs and pick-ups. We asked households to count the old devices they had at home during the interview, which produced far more accurate figures than estimates from memory.
Consumer panelQuantitative researchContent marketing
Sampling strategy
- households
- 2,000
- Respondents were selected across Eight cities in South Africa & Morocco using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
- Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
Data collection
- Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person, supervised in the field.
- The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
Data quality & validation
- Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
- Time and location checks on field interviews
- Supervisor accompaniment in the field
- Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
- Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
- Review of open-ended answers
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Comparison of concepts, messages or products against each other
Key findings
- Data privacy worries and lack of convenient options kept phones in drawers.
Addressing the specific fear unlocked behaviour change.
Recommendations
- The company launched doorstep pick-ups with certified data wiping and built its campaign around that reassurance.
- Share the findings with the teams closest to customers so they can act quickly.
What we recommended, and the client put into practice
Business impact
- Pick-up requests grew as the reassurance message spread, and the company used survey data to plan collection routes in the neighbourhoods with the most stored devices.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: how do buyers build their shortlist?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.