In a buying habits survey commissioned from Taloustutkimus by DNA, DNA was the most frequently mentioned in terms of awareness of mobile phone vendors. Elisa was the second-most mentioned, with Gigantti coming third.
Customers still favour shops when buying mobile phones. However, male respondents were almost twice as likely as women to mention the DNA, Elisa and Saunalahti web shops. Among younger respondents, verkkokauppa.com was also prominent.
When people buy mobile phones, the importance of the shop and sales representative is emphasised. During the purchasing process, almost three out of four respondents find testing a phone and holding it in one’s hand at least fairly important. The need to test the device is emphasised when buying a phone for personal use or for a child.
Older customers value the opinions of sales representatives. In fact, more than 73 per cent of respondents over 50 years of age prefer the support of a sales representative in selecting a mobile handset. Moreover, when buying a phone, customers more often take a positive view of a sales representative offering subscriptions and mobile phone services.
For the majority of respondents, their current customer relationship with a particular operator does not influence their choice of venue for purchasing a new mobile phone. In most cases, people change their mobile phones about once every two or three years (58 per cent of respondents). Young people do so more often, and over 50-year-olds less often, than once every three years, whereas 15 per cent of young people change their phone on a yearly basis.
As many as 72 per cent of respondents compared prices before buying a mobile phone. Price comparison is more emphasised among younger buyers. Mobile phone subscriptions are slightly less often compared.
Smartphones increasingly popular
According to the survey, men appreciate new features more, and this shows in terms of motivation for buying. For men, the fact that a mobile phone has outdated features is the second most important reason for acquiring a new one (25 per cent for men, 15 per cent for women). The most common reason for buying a new phone is that the old one has broken down.
Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular, particularly among consumers in the 25 to 34 age group. Buyers of a new 3G smartphone determine the model in advance and buy the phone they prefer on the basis of price offers. The more advanced the model, the more planned its acquisition. As buyers, women behave differently from men, in that the majority of women (35 per cent) had no advance plan on which mobile model to buy.
DNA Store, with a total of 77 outlets, is Finland’s largest retail chain selling mobile phones. The increasing popularity of smartphones is also being witnessed by DNA Stores, where more than one third of phones sold are smartphones. Most consumers are ready to pay 100 to 300 euros for a smartphone. A reason for the pick-up in smartphone sales may be the hire-purchase option offered by operators in tie-in sales of phones with subscriptions.
*Survey data was collected via Taloustutkimus Internet panel in summer 2010. A total of 1,066 Finns responded to the buying habit survey.
Further information
Sari Heinonen, Head of Department, Business Intelligence, DNA Ltd, sari.heinonen@dna.fi, tel.+358 44 313 4294