December 8th, 2023, Lesley Simeon
Every consumer has different needs in mind when setting out to buy a cell phone. A YouGov poll examines the factors that are most influential for consumers when picking out a cell phone brand as their favorite.
A recent YouGov survey asked consumers across 17 international markets about factors they consider the most influential in making a certain brand, across categories, their favorite. When it comes to cell phones, consumers are most likely to cite functionality (29%), closely followed by value for money (28%). Customer service (2%) and influence of friends and family (4%) are the factors least likely to be most influential on consumers’ ‘favorite cell phone brand’ picks.
While considerable proportions of consumers across all age groups say functionality is the most influential factor for them, 35-to-54-year-olds (58%) are most likely to say so. Further, nearly three in ten 35-to-54-year-olds (59%) also factor in value for money when choosing their favorite cell phone brand - the most likely across age groups to do so.
Durability or the shelf-life of the brand’s products is the most influential factor for more than a quarter of 18-to-34-year-olds (27%), whereas less than one in ten consumers aged 55 years and above factor in the durability of cell phones (9%) when choosing their favorite cell phone brands.
As for design language and aesthetics, younger audiences are more likely to consider this factor than older ones - less than two in ten of 18-to-34-year-olds (18%) say this factor is the most influential.
Younger consumers (i.e. 18-to-34-year-olds) are most likely to consider the status of the brand (15%) and the influence of friends and family (9%).
Older consumers i.e. 55 years and above are most likely to factor in the functionality of the cell phone (32%), followed by value for money (27%). Data shows that 14% of this demographic says that they don’t have a favorite cell phone brand - a close second to 35-to-54-year-olds, 15% of whom say the same.
Let’s now see how these factors fare, when it comes to consumers across individual markets.
Value for money
Consumers from our European markets are more likely than those in our Asian markets to cite value for money as their most influential factor in picking favorite cell phone brands. Spain leads (47%), followed by Italy (43%) and France (37%).
Britons are the least likely across all markets (19%) to say value for money is an influential factor.
In Asia, three in ten Indians (30%) say value for money is most influential - the most likely in the region to say so. At 23%, Indonesians are the least likely to say so.
Functionality
Another favorite across markets, functionality of the cell phone is the most influential factor for over two in five Hong Kongers (42%). On the other hand, consumers in France are the least likely to cite functionality (14%).
Further, functionality is the top factor for consumers in Great Britain (37%), US (32%), Singapore (35%), Denmark (28%), Australia (33%) and Indonesia (35%). This factor is the most important factor for consumers in our Nordic markets as well.
Design language and aesthetics, status associated with brand
Denmark is the only market surveyed that record a double-digit figure for the proportion of consumers who say design language and aesthetics are a crucial factor in selecting a favorite cell phone brand. One in ten Danes (10%) say so. Indians (9%) closely follow the Danes.
Brand status also doesn’t find a lot many takers, polling data shows. Equal proportions of consumers in UAE and India (9% each) say this factor is influential when citing certain cell phones brands as their favorite. These markets are the most likely to say so.
Durability or shelf-life of the brand’s products
Nearly two in ten Indonesians (19%) say the durability or shelf-life of the cell phone is the most influential factor when picking out brand favorites in this segment. Conversely, just 3% of Italians agree.
Great Britain (8%), Spain (8%) and the US (9%) are other markets whose consumers are least likely to say the durability of the product matters the most to them when choosing cell phone brands.
Influence of friends and family, and customer service
Hong Kongers are the most likely across all markets (7%) to say the influence of their social circle has a bearing on their pick of favorite cell phone brands. As for customer service, Indians lead (5%) followed by consumers in France, the UAE and Canada (4% each).
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 512 and 2000 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in August 2023. 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 Surveys: Serviced.
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