47% of Consumers Buy Protection Plans When Durable Goods Cost More Than $500

With the rise of eCommerce, frustrating situations like cracked phones, damaged furniture and broken equipment are far too common for consumers, leading them to demand extra coverage to protect their durable goods against mishaps. Product protections and extended warranties, now offered with high-cost goods, promote brand loyalty and trust.  

The Language Of Trust: Decoding Product Protection Purchasing Behaviors, a PYMNTS and Clyde collaboration, surveyed 2,519 U.S. consumers and revealed that they are three times more likely to acquire product protection when the price is high. Product cost threshold is a central factor as 47% of consumers added protection plans for durable goods purchases of $500 or more, while only 17% did the same for durable goods that cost less than $500. 

 The survey also found that 30% of those who bought durable goods in the last year chose to obtain coverage plans, either during the online or in-person sales process or via a post-sale follow-up. The types of durable goods purchased include consumer electronics (38%) at an average of $880, furniture (30%) at an average of $1,818 and mattresses (10%) at an average of $1,960.  

The data suggested that shoppers add product protection most frequently for direct-to-consumer (D2C) mattresses (40%), exercise equipment (38%), luggage (34%), electronics (32%) and furniture (30%), reflecting the reality that product protection is not just for items that are easy to break or lose, but for investment products that consumers expect to last many years.