A survey was recently conducted across major cities in India to determine parameters that Indian consumers take into consideration when buying a mobile phone. Here’s a summary:
Important considerations in buying a mobile phone
The brand of a mobile phone is one of the most important factor influencing consumers’ buying decision while most people don’t really care about advice being offered by the sales person at the mobile phone shop. Cost too is an important consideration and goes on to explain why iPhone failed in India.
In terms of features, multimedia (especially music) and camera quality of the phone do play an important role. Men or women who are single are much more likely to buy latest phone models and are also concerned about the looks of the phone when making a purchase while the 30+ group prefers "ease of use".
This survey does give some idea about how India consumers make their mobile phone buying decisions but it definitely missed certain important parameters especially battery life, warranty, company’s support network and internet connectivity. The full results will be public on Jan 21.
Find this article at: http://www.labnol.org/india/considerations-in-buying-mobile-phone/6640/
Reader Comments
Amit,
rather all of above, I would also seek VOIP, GPS, 3G Compatibility, DVB-H, or Mobile TV support, Wi-Fi etc. features etc but pricing too is always crucial in Indian markets (iPhone failed in India)..
Cheers : )
Written by Piyush on 01.19.09
Who did this survey and what was the sample size could you tell this
Written by Abhishek J on 01.19.09
Amit!
I perceive Cost as the single most important factor. (May be just like people take SPEED as an Online service’s implicit feature & skip it on their preferences, they do not include COST explicitly, when asked for a survey)
In my observation, Only after deciding the budget (May it be 5K/10/12/15/20K) they look for the features!
Regards
Venkatramanan
Written by venkatramanan on 01.19.09
Amit,
I think the sample might be wrong or the sample might be some users from metro. I dont think much of rural customers were included in the sample. I think cost would be the most important factor for mobiles.
Written by Santhosh on 01.19.09
Better battery backup in my opinion is one of the prime considerations along with ease of use.
Here i would like to give a simple comparison between Sony Ericsson & Nokia phones both of which i have used. While the Nokia(old model which i still have) runs for 3 days after charging the new Sony ericsson’s batter drains out in a single day of usage after charging.
One more feature which Nokia has is two separate ports for the earphone & charger while Sony has only one for both.
Written by anand on 01.19.09
Brand? Wow. That’s pretty dumb, as most brands have a range from crappy to superb.
Music quality and storage capability? Is this a phone, or a smartphone? Honestly, it’s just better to have a separate device for extra functionality like that, so you don’t drain the battery on something.
At least the 3rd most-picked choice is reasonable.
Written by Quikboy on 01.19.09
Yes brand is what we Indians prefer in a mobile and not just mobile every gadgets or car etc. If company has a popular branding in India we prefer those companies brand.
Written by Ravi Ahuja on 01.20.09
in my opinion cost of mobile phone is a major influencing factor.as one has to take care of his pocket before buying anything.
second thing will be the warranty provided by the vendor and the the service they provide.
good look of mobile is also important.
so one will look for all these qualities before buying a mobile.
Written by reshma on 01.20.09
Ah, here is what matters for Indian Mobile phone buyers, as I think,
1. Price/ Cost – Many of my colleagues friends agree to this and they care about the Handset cost.
2. Multimedia Features: Great to have Camera, even VGA should work.
3. Operation[User?] Friendly: Good looking with clear marking of keys and screen
4. Warranty/Guarantee: Not sure, but many people ask this while buying. Even they ask for Chinese Mobiles, too!
5. The Battery life, size etc.
6. Brand – as the famous names, like Nokia and Sony, are much popular.
These are some points a common man here looks for while buying a mobile.
For Xtra tech things, I may ask for good picture quality camera[at least 2mp], Photo Blogging tool [Sony Ericsson], Media Player/ MP3 player, Heavy contact list and SMS capacity.. bla bla bla…!
Written by Netwala on 01.20.09