While veteran smartphone owners are definitely all about the iPhone when it comes time to upgrade, first-time smartphone buyers just aren’t as drawn to Apple’s smartphone. A new study also shows that those that are late-comers to the smartphone ranks are more price-conscious and may hold on to their devices longer than long-time smartphone users.
“Previous smartphone owners buy Apple iPhones much more than first-time owners,” according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. “Almost 50 percent of previous owners buy an iPhone, while under one-third of first-time owners buy an iPhone.”
Samsung performs close to equally well amongst both new and previous smartphone owners, LG fares better with rookies, likely helped by its lower prices and strong availability in the prepaid marketplace.
Late comers to the smartphone ranks are more price conscious and tend to keep their devices longer than veteran smartphone buyers.
The study also showed that both Apple and Samsung tend to get repeat business from their customers at upgrade time, with approximately three-quarters of their users opting for the same brand.
When it comes to carrier choices, Verizon and T-Mobile grab a disproportionate piece of the business, while Sprint and AT&T do better among users that are replacing a previous smartphone.
Blackberry and Windows Phone don’t seem to appeal to either first time or veteran smartphone buyers. “Neither Blackberry nor Windows phones have any significant share in either market,” CIRP said in its study. “Under 10 percent of either first-time or previous smartphone owners buy BlackBerry or Windows smartphones.”
