Campaigning charity Electrical Safety First has announced that it has partnered with Beko Plc UK to explore consumer attitudes around product registration.
Research revealed that despite a number of high profile safety notices and product recalls issued last year, nearly half of all consumers who purchased an electrical item in the last 12 months did not register their purchase, Electrical Safety First says.
In 2016 alone, 61 recall notices were issued for electrical products in the UK. Registration is one of the main ways to contact consumers directly in case of a safety concern, such as a product recall. Without registering, millions of British consumers could be unwittingly putting themselves and their homes at risk if they continue to use a recalled product.
The research shows some interesting shifts in consumer trends, Electrical Safety First adds. For example, only 9% of consumers said that they were worried about giving personal information to manufacturers. This shows a marked decrease in the levels of concerns about sharing personal information compared to three years ago. In a 2014 report by Electrical Safety First, three times as many consumers reported sharing their personal details with manufacturers as a concern. Instead, consumer apathy with the main reasons for not registering being: “I forgot to register”, “I didn’t know I could register” and “I don’t see the point”.
Given the numbers of people not registering their appliances, it’s no surprise that the success rate of recalls is low, Electrical Safety First notes. Previous research undertaken by the charity shows that the success rate is rarely more than 10% to 20%, despite the huge risks of electrical shock, fire or even death that faulty electrical items can present.
Electrical Safety First head of communications Emma Drackford said: “This research makes it clear that there is a lot of work ahead to shift consumer attitudes on product registration. Although some attitudes have changed towards marketing, a concerning amount of consumers are still apathetic towards registering their electrical products. We’re urging consumers to be aware of registration as an essential step when purchasing an electrical product.
“It is great to have Beko Plc on board funding research for this important product safety area. We would like to see all manufacturers promoting product registration with their customers and ensuring registration is a simple and straightforward process.”
Electrical Safety First has created a video for consumers to highlight the importance of registering an electrical appliance, and welcomes anyone who would like to spread the message of registration to share it on a website or on social media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOq3toGq34M
To find out more information or to see if an electrical appliance you own has been recalled visit www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/recall
To register an appliance visit: registermyappliance.org.uk
