14 DAY TRIAL // The number of smartphone buyers that may switch from one platform to another is declining substantially, as new research shows that platform loyalty is on the rise.
CIRP data shows that Android has reached a loyalty rate of no less than 92 percent, while iPhone is behind with 89 percent.
This means Android customers are actually more loyal than iPhone users, though as you can see, there’s not such a big difference between the two.
However, CIRP says that both platforms have reached their highest scores ever, which indicates that more customers are likely to stay with their platforms when buying new phones.
“Loyalty has crept up for both iOS and Android in the past two years, to the highest levels we’ve seen,” said Mike Levin, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. “Basically, For the past three years, around 90% of US smartphone users remain with their same operating system when they buy a new smartphone.”
Fewer switchers in the long term
Apple brags about the number of Android users switching to iPhone occasionally, but if these figures are accurate then there’s a chance both platforms would have to rely more on their own customer bases for the future-generation products.
Josh Lowitz, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP, plays down analyst estimates pointing to buyers jumping from one platform to another, explaining that while this can happen, chances are getting slimmer every year.
“That’s absolutely possible, but it would represent a significant change from the long term trend. These analyses are based asking what consumer plan or intend to do, which as we know is highly subjective and often more aspirational than realistic. The CIRP loyalty analysis is based on what consumers actually did in the most recent quarter,” he said.
A graph, which you can see attached, shows that iOS recorded a faster increase in loyalty lately, while Android has pretty much maintained the same level throughout the last quarter.