A survey of millions of Taiwanese netizens conducted by the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (MIC) showed that domestic digital personality types can be classified as “chief,” “self-glamorous,” “fond of comparing” and “wait-and-see.”
MIC analyst Chiang Han-i (姜漢儀) said the chiefs were digital leaders who enjoyed wandering into electronics stores and attending product launch events. They seized technology trends, were opinion makers on digital products for family and friends, and never stayed away from digital products, even while commuting.
The chiefs’ entertainment and social life is tightly connected to the Internet: They share opinions on the Internet and meet other netizens.
There are about 2.39 million chiefs, or about 22 percent of total netizens, and most are men, the survey found.
The self-glamorous category is composed of people who aspire for digital taste. They buy digital products based on feelings rather than professional judgment and consider them symbols of personal taste. Most buy digital products at official stores and are willing to pay more for the outer appearance of the products.
There are about 2.49 million, or about 23 percent, of the self-glamorous type, it said.
Netizens who are “fond of comparing” are those who compare the cost and performance of digital products. They compare prices on the Internet and value the opinions of other netizens rather than those of vendors and product makers.
They are also most willing to make online purchases.
There are about 2.97 million netizens, or 27 percent, in this category.
Finally, the “wait-and-see” netizens are described as those who respond slowly to new trends. About 3.13 million, or 28.5 percent of the total netizen population, belong to that group. They are easily influenced by family, friends and TV commercials when buying digital products. They like to buy them at wholesale stores and sometimes through other popular channels, such as TV shopping.
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