• 17% of Brits have their remotes stolen by canine companions, with children also to blame for their devices going walkabouts (36%)
• Research from Amazon reveals the weird and wonderful places Brits misplace their TV remote, with over one and a half million confessing they’ve accidentally brought it to work
• Alexa Voice Remote Pro’s Remote Finder function could save precious time for the two in three that lose their remote control (66%) by emitting an audible ring after device owners say “Alexa, find my remote”

30 January 2023, UK - The fridge is a magnet for missing TV remote controls, as over two million Brits confess to having misplaced their remotes in the chiller. Over one and a half million have even found their remotes in the bin after they’ve gone missing.

The research commissioned by Amazon has today revealed the weird and wonderful places the nation finds their TV remotes after they go missing, with under the sofa unsurprisingly claiming top spot (43%) and hidden amongst the sofa cushions in a close second place (43%). Fashionistas should also be searching in their wardrobes, as 8% have found their misplaced remote in a clothes pocket.

Unusual places Brits have found their remote:

• Toy box
• Dog bed
• Fridge
• The bin
• Handbag
• Microwave
• Car
• At work
• Make-up bag
• Washing machine

It’s not always human error though, as our canine companions are also to blame for lost remotes. Almost one fifth (17%) say their dogs regularly steal their device and can even sometimes be found in the pooch’s bed (5%).  Children aren’t also as innocent as they may seem, with 36% saying that their kids are culpable for the remote’s disappearance.

It turns out remotes don’t just go missing inside the home instead frequently traveling further afield. Those surveyed found their misplaced remotes at work, in their handbags and even in their car (3%). It appears remotes are also disappearing completely, never to be found again, as one in ten lose two TV remotes per year (11%). 

With 79% of Brits saying they would like an easier way to find their remote controls, Amazon’s Alexa Voice Remote Pro (RRP £34.99) could be the solution to Brits’ device misplacing woes. With a Remote Finder feature, device owners just have to say “Alexa, find my remote” or use the dedicated Remote Finder button in the Fire TV mobile app and the remote will emit an audible ring to attract their attention. There’ll be no more pulling apart sofa cushions to find it.

Emma Gilmartin, Director, Fire TV & Tablet EU: “It seems the TV remote is the missing sock of the electronic world with the average person losing one TV remote per year, never to be found again. With Alexa Voice Remote Pro and its Remote Finder feature, we can all save a lot of time searching.

In our house, where “hide the remote” is a favourite pastime for the kids, we frequently find our Alexa Voice Remote Pro in the last place we would ever look.

With so many items going missing, the average Brit spends £44.90 each year replacing their lost possessions which quickly tallies up over a lifetime.  In fact, over the course of a year the nation spends over £2 billion on replacing lost items.

Brits also spend an average 193 minutes per year looking for their TV remote, which equates to 254 hours of their lifetime* wasted searching around the house.

The survey also revealed that ‘Zapper’, ‘Thingymajig’ and ‘The box’ are just some of the names UK households have for the remote control. The top ten names Brits give for the remote in 2023 are:

1. Remote (‘the remote’) (57%)
2. Controller (11%)
3. Thingymajig (5%)
4. Zapper (5%)
5. Buttons (5%)
6. Clicker (4%)
7. The box (3%)
8. Switcher (3%)
9. Whatchamacallit (3%)
10. Gizmo (3%)

[ENDS]

Notes to Editors

Research conducted by CensusWide, polling 2,000 UK adults in January 2023.

According to ONS data the UK adult population is 52.89m.**

According to ONS data the UK life expectancy at birth in the UK in 2018 to 2020 was 79.0 years for males and 82.9 years for females, released 23rd September 2021.*

Alexa Voice Remote Pro is compatible with most Fire TV devices and other popular TVs, soundbars and A/V receivers. The Remote Finder feature has a range of up to 10m and requires the Fire TV device to be turned on.

Top Ten Places to Misplace the Remote:

1. Under the sofa (43%)
2. Amongst the sofa cushions (43%)
3. In plain sight (33%)
4. On the coffee table (18%)
5. In the bed (16%)
6. Bookshelf 10%)
7. Under the rug (8%)
8. Clothes pocket (8%)
9. Kitchen Cupboard (7%)
10. Bathroom (6%)

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