Brand loyalty is far greater among smartphone owners of newer handset brands than it is among smartphone owners of traditional brands, new research by YouGov’s Technology and Telecoms Consulting Team has found.
Over 2,000 smartphone owners took part in the research which shows that the owners of newer handset brands, including Apple, BlackBerry and HTC, are more likely to stick with their current brand when purchasing a new phone than owners of traditional handset brands such as Nokia and Samsung.
When asked about their current smartphone and which phone they thought they would buy next, an impressive 81% of Apple owners said they would stick with the Apple brand, making it the clear winner in terms of brand loyalty. As can be seen from the chart below, the newer brands also claim second and third place in the loyalty table. 50% of BlackBerry smartphone owners and 44% of HTC owners said they were likely to make repeat purchases.
Traditional mobile phone brands did not fare so well. 61% of Sony Ericsson customers are likely to choose a different brand next time around. These brands did much better than Samsung and LG however, where only 25% and ten percent respectively said they expected to purchase their next phone from the same handset manufacturer.
So why is it that the owners of smartphones from traditional brand favourites like Nokia and LG are less likely to remain loyal to the brand when they purchase their next handset? Russell Feldman, Research Manager in YouGov’s Technology & Telecoms team, commented: ‘The traditional phone brands have a battle on two fronts. Firstly the number of smartphone owners is growing at a very fast rate and the transitional gold rush to this new technology means traditional handset brands face tough competition from new and exciting brands. Secondly, those customers who are currently using traditional handsets are attracted by newer brands and are highly likely to switch to a newer handset brand.’
For those worrying about the fate of these old favourites, Feldman also has some advice, as well as a word of warning: ‘The traditional brands need to update their features, operating systems and where applicable their “apps stores”, or they might go the way of other market leaders that have been behind the curve at a time of technological and market change.’
It is certainly an exciting time for consumers, with what seems like a continuous flow of new phones entering the market, all of which boast different applications and state-of-the-art technology. It remains to be seen whether traditional mobile phone manufacturers will fall by the wayside as they fail to adapt to new demand for glossy brands like Apple, or whether they’ll instead be granted another bite of the technological cherry.
Base: All qualified respondents who own a smartphone and who will get a new handset (1,679) - Which, if any, of the following manufacturers is your current handset? Which ONE of these mobile handset brands do you expect your next phone to be?
