Smartphones

Are People Still Using Smartphones as Phones?

Smartphones now come with so many features that the original calling function is often overlooked. With texting, email, facetime, snapchat, and several other ways to communicate, the modest phone call has become an antiquated practice. While there are several different ways to communicate on a smartphone, users are still concerned with making calls, and their feedback is predominantly negative. Despite all the other capabilities, a smartphone is ultimately still a phone, and consumers are not satisfied with this primary function.

This shift in usage is happening across all smartphone brands, but negative feedback is more prominent for less popular brands like Kyocera, Sharp, and ZTE, since users are willing to overlook poor call quality in favor of other features from more popular brands like Apple, Sony, and Samsung.

We drill down into specific complaints and consumer sentiment about phone usage by brand in our Peek and Focus November Smartphone Consumer Demand Report.

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Argus Insights tracks consumer behavior in several markets. Reports are also available for the Wearables and Home Automation markets. If you are interested in custom reports, consultation, or gaining access to our data, please contact us.

Sales Match Delight as Xiaomi & Huawei Threaten Samsung & Apple

On December 5^th, Argus Insights published a blog detailing the Rise of the Chinese Smartphone Manufacturers, which examined the improvement in Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi’s consumer buzz and delight, compared to Samsung’s falling approval, from May to November of 2014. On December 15^th, Gartner published their Q3 numbers, declaring that “Samsung Lost Market Share While Top Three Chinese Manufacturers Combined Smartphone Market Share Grew by Four Percentage Points”[1]. Examining the change in consumer reaction from Q2 to Q3 shows that consumers are finding delight in the smartphones they are increasingly purchasing from Huawei and Xiaomi, a promising trend that will likely lead to increased adoption.

Xiaomi saw an increase in delight, but a decrease in buzz volume, which can be partly attributed to the fact that China Unicom is the only Chinese carrier included in this data set. Nonetheless, the consumers that are reviewing Xiaomi smartphones are delighted. Huawei saw an even more dramatic increase in delight, driven largely by Amazon and China Unicom customers, which we detail in our November Consumer Demand Report. Apple and Samsung remain ahead in terms of review volume, but both these popular brands saw lower Net Promoter Scores than the rising Chinese manufacturers.

Consumers are turning to lower priced smartphones as brand becomes less important. This trend is catapulting other manufacturers into a market long dominated by Apple and Samsung. Argus Insights will continue to track changes in consumer preference but if you are interested in custom reports, access to our tools and data, or personal consultation, please contact us. For weekly updates on the Smartphone, Wearable, and Home Automation markets sign up for free newsletter.

[1] http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2944819

Rise of the Chinese Smartphone Manufacturers

According to global market intelligence provider TrendForce, Chinese smartphone vendors will rise to “38.6 percent of the worldwide total” of smartphone sales by the end of 2014. As consumer interest is shifting to reasonably priced, lower end smartphones, it is not a surprise to see that users are finding delight outside of Samsung and Apple devices. Chinese companies Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi have not been shy about their aspirations to “become the global top dog,”[1] and Argus Insights found that consumer reviews support this projection. Overall, these Chinese smartphone companies have gained mindshare as customer feedback for Lenovo and Huawei has grown in both volume and positivity since May this year, while Xiaomi saw an increase in review volume and a drop in NPS.

The growth is even more pronounced within the United States smartphone market. Delight levels have soared past global market leaders Apple and Samsung as buzz increased steadily. Adoption of Chinese handsets in the US is slow, but the consumers that are using these phones are reporting satisfaction.

Argus Insights will continue to track Lenovo, Huawei, and Xiaomi’s quest for the hearts and minds of smartphone consumers all over the world. For weekly updates about consumer smartphone perceptions, sign up for our free newsletter.

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[1] http://www.cnet.com/news/chinese-handsets-account-for-almost-40-percent-of-global-shipments/

Best Buy’s Improved Mindshare Suggests Better Sales in Q3, but Still Lags Behind Amazon

Best Buy’s Q3 earnings ~~will be announced~~ were announced on Thursday, November 20^thbefore the opening bell (much to the chagrin of the Argus Insights publishing schedule). Best Buy’s consumer review mindshare in Q3 of 2013 saw a sharp decline, while mindshare in Q3 of 2014 saw the opposite. After a slow summer, consumer review volumes shot up in August 2014 with continued growth throughout the entire quarter. Tablets, smartphones, and laptops received the most attention, but other sectors, like wearables, are beginning to contribute to the company’s increasing mindshare as well. Over the past year, Best Buy has been implementing ‘experience stores’ within their larger store, that are specifically focused on brands such as Apple, Samsung, and Intel. The targeted attention of these experience stores appears to be translating into increased consumer demand in Best Buy consumer electronics. Consumers were more interested in Best Buy products throughout the quarter, and this boost in attention will most likely translate to reported gains in Q3.

Comparing the trajectory of Best Buy’s consumer review volumes to that of Amazon further highlights Best Buy’s vast improvement in Q3 performance this year. Amazon saw higher volumes of reviews, but with a sustained trajectory. These shifts in relative review volumes are a key indicator of sales trends for retailers. Amazon’s growth is in large part due to the release of new Amazon Fire Tablets (yes, they dropped the Kindle assuming we’ve already ignited our interest in their products and do not require kindling) though even without tablets, we see Amazon’s growth over the same time period in 2013.

Best Buy saw a complete transformation in consumer engagement during Q3 of this year. This increased mindshare suggests that Best Buy will see sales growth for the quarter. (Editor note: Looks like we were right, they beat the street’s expectations). Amazon still has overall higher growth year to year, but Best Buy has reversed the downward spiral of last year, fending off rumors of “death by showrooming.” We will keep watching through Black Friday’s frenzy and the rest of the holiday season and update the market just before their earnings releases in February.

Argus Insights tracks several product categories across various retailers. Please contact us for custom reports, access to our data, or personal consultation. If you are interested in a monthly report on the effects of consumer demand within the Wearables or Smartphone Market, check out our Monthly Market Analysis Reports.

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Separating the Buzz From the Delight: Which Products Should Consumers Really Want this Holiday Season?

With Black Friday just around the corner, it’s time to start compiling shopping lists. Argus Insights wants to help separate the hype of the deals from the reality of product quality to clearly define consumer intentions. In addition to our free Consumers Beware: Black Friday webinar this Monday, November 17^th, we analyzed consumer reviews from the past week to determine which products are truly delighting users, and which are just getting their attention. The ‘most popular’ products netted the most consumer reviews, while the ‘most delightful’ products received the most positive feedback.

In the smartphone market, interest in Apple’s latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices has endured, as these devices remained top of mind for the week of November 2-9^th. While Apple phones grabbed mindshare, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 and Note 3 won the hearts of consumers, as they sandwiched the Sony Xperia Z3 in the list of most delightful phones for the week.

Fitbit products had a majority of the mindshare in the wearables market, but only their Fitbit Zip made it onto the list of the most delightful devices. Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch produces the happiest users, followed by Garmin’s more fitness minded devices and the lower end Pebble Smartwatch.

None of the most popular Home Automation products made it onto the list of the most delightful. Nest’s Learning Thermostat received the most attention from consumers, but the most delightful product was the little discussed Rachio Iro Smart Sprinkler Controller.

Argus Insights tracks consumer perception of several products across different sectors year round. For more insights, you can sign up for our Free Black Friday Webinar or our Free Weekly Newsletters. Please contact us with any specific questions regarding custom reports, monthly reports, consulting, or access to our data.

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