Survey of smartphone owners shows the power of brand loyalty

Back in 2013, the Wall Street Journal commissioned a survey of U.S., U.K. and Australian smartphone owners to see which manufacturers had the most loyal customers. It was a simple test, really. The Businessman's Bible merely wanted to know how many smartphone owners replaced their handset in 2013 with a model made by the same manufacturer who built their previous model. 3000 smartphone owners took part in the survey.

On top was Apple. 76% of those who started last year with an Apple iPhone, ended the year with a newer iPhone model. Samsung was next with a 58% retention rate. And in third place was LG. 37% of those with an LG smartphone stuck with the brand for their next phone. Nokia and HTC were close to LG with retention rates of 33% and 30% respectively. Sony (24%), Motorola (22%) and BlackBerry (21%) round out the list.

So what can we take away from this information? Perhaps nothing. A study we told you about last month found that 60% of 2000 polled iPhone owners in the  U.K. have a "blind loyalty" to Apple, meaning that when it comes time to purchase a new handset, they buy the next iPhone just because it has an Apple on the back, never taking the time to look at new models from the competition.



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