Quiet Mark, the international consumer champion award for quiet high-performance technology and solutions to unwanted noise, has announced a step change in the UK’s battle against noise pollution.
Quiet Mark’s retailer partnerships with Currys PC World, John Lewis & Partners and Lakeland, as well as Argos, ASDA, Screwfix, Very, Littlewoods and Bira, are spearheading the movement to choose a product by its sound performance. According to research (carried out in April); 71 per cent of consumers say it does matter how loud an appliance is when they use it at home. This confirms the sound of home technology products as an important differentiator to support customer’s health and wellbeing.
Quiet Mark-awarded products will now be available online and directly in retail partner stores throughout the UK. This is a rare instance of traditionally competitive retail brands aligning together to take on an important health and environmental issue.
Thanks to the new wave of retailer partnerships, customers of Quiet Mark’s retail partners can now find Quiet Mark awarded products easily. When purchasing from these retailers, consumers, 62 per cent of whom would like their homes to be quieter, now have the ability to regain control of their aural environment.
Quiet Mark awarded products will also continue to be available in John Lewis and Partners, where a close five-year partnership has already helped to drive the UK’s ‘Buy Quiet’ trend and offers proof that the Quiet Mark is a vital sales differentiator, as customers actively seek quiet alternatives.
For example, 61 per cent of UK consumers want their washing machine to make less noise than it currently does and 55 per cent want their vacuum cleaner to make less noise, along with 24 per cent who want their kettle to be quieter.
Lara Brittain, Category Director for Domestic Appliances at Currys PC World, commented: “Our customers are always looking for products that have a range of benefits with noise levels becoming an increasingly important factor when choosing what to buy. The partnership with Quiet Mark will help our customers to easily find the products that will best keep their homes quiet and peaceful, so they can enjoy amazing technology to the max.”
Laurence Mitchell, Partner and Buying Director, Electricals and Home Technology at John Lewis & Partners, added: “As a long-standing partner of Quiet Mark, it’s great to see them getting so much support. Lots of our customers are looking for quiet products and we’re seeing a heightened awareness of the impact of noise on people’s wellbeing.”
Poppy Szkiler, Founder and Managing Director at Quiet Mark, said: “We are moved by the overwhelmingly positive response from UK’s retailer leaders we have met with this year, collectively understanding the need to join with us to address the problem in an unprecedented nationwide consumer care campaign.
“We all share the responsibility for the health of our next generation. Quiet Mark helps everyone collectively reconsider the often-excessive noise levels of the technology we buy or being brought to market and verify and profile new noise reduction solutions. We stand for a value that is often forgotten to make sure it is explored, protected and established again because sound deeply impacts our wellness.”
