PCQ User’s Choice Awards 2021: Leaders lead the war zone

As like the tablet segment, Samsung once again takes a clear lead against its competitors in the smartphone category. Xiaomi is the first runner-up and Apple takes the second spot

According to IBEF, smartphone shipments in India increased 8 per cent y-o-y to reach 152.5 million units in 2019, thereby making it the fastest growing smartphone market. As per CMR, the smartphone market is witnessing a 14 per cent YoY growth. Though pandemic impacted other markets negatively, the smartphone industry witnessed huge growth. In the past couple of years, many new players entered the market, but some are dominating since the very beginning.

Samsung attracted millions of buyers; Xiaomi gained popularity in a short span of time. And that reflects in our Affinity Index where Samsung got the highest 92 and Xiaomi – 87 followed by Apple – 81, Vivo – 67 and Oppo – 66.

Spontaneously most of the consumers were able to recall Samsung – 83, Xiaomi – 76, Vivo – 73, Apple – 70, and Oppo – 67 per cent.

Out of our respondents, 27 per cent are using Samsung, with close competition of 25 per cent sharing of Xiaomi. Realme got 10 per cent followed by Vivo – 10 and Oppo – 7 per cent. Apple scored similar to Oppo.

When asked for future consideration of brands, the results were completely different. Here OnePlus captured the first spot with 40 per cent votes, and Apple came as first runner-up with 38 per cent. Samsung and Xiaomi lost their places and scored 30 and 29 per cent, followed by Oppo – 26 and Vivo – 18 respectively. These results show us that in future, OnePlus and Apple can dominate the market.

When asked about satisfaction with their current smartphone brand, Samsung again got highest score 97 and Apple was just behind with 95. Xiaomi, Oppo and Realme got 94, 91 and 90 respectively.

But are they loyal to the brands they are using? Our next segment helped to understand that. 94 per cent Apple users will consider the brand once again. Samsung was quite close with 93. Vivo and Xiaomi shared a score of 92, followed by Oppo – 81.

Apple hit the top spot when asked for recommendation of brand. Samsung came as first runner-up, followed by Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo.

Samsung is mostly preferred for its brand name and after sales service. Xiaomi is mostly preferred for its brand name and initial price.