Nearly three in ten urban Indians are likely to change their cell phone brand

A new Telco report from YouGov shows when it comes to cell phone renewal considerations, a third of urban Indians (33%) plan to upgrade their cell phone with the same brand. The decision to stick to their current phone brand or switch to a new one is equally split, with nearly three in ten (28%) planning to consider each option.

The report sets out to understand the purchase intentions and motivations of cell phone and carrier consumers across 18 international markets. It helps marketers understand consumer upgrade and switching behaviour, as well as customer retention strategies.

Looking at the data by age, young adults between 18-24 years are more likely than respondents from the other age groups to stick with their current cell phone brand but least likely to upgrade with the same brand. Upgrading is higher among residents belonging to the 25-54 years age group.

When asked what would encourage switchers to stick to their current cell phone brand, half of the urban Indian respondents said more or improved phone features will motivate them to do so (50%), followed by better customer service (46%) and easy access to 5G (43%).

Looking at the global picture, urban Indians are second most likely to switch their cell phone brand (with 28% of respondents saying this), just after Indonesians (30%). Consumers from Britain, the US and Denmark are least likely to do so.

Brand sticking tendencies are the highest among European markets like Germany, Poland, Spain, and Britain (51-47%). On average, two out of five consumers from Mexico, Canada, and the US are also likely to share the same sentiments (44-37%). When it comes to upgrading phones with the same brand, Danes (43%) are more likely to do so followed by Singaporeans and UAE consumers (39% each).

Read the full report here.

Methodology

YouGov RealTime Omnibus provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 507 and 2004 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in June 2022. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov RealTime Omnibus.