When it comes to buying one’s next smartphone, you’d think that the number one factor that consumers look at is price. While it’s still an important factor, it’s not the most important one that Malaysians look at. Such is the revelation brought by a research done by Google and Ipsos, which involves 929 participants.
In fact, for nearly half of the participants, specs of a phone matter more than prices when it comes to deciding if someone would buy a phone. And the most important among the phone factors, as Google calls it, is battery life. This is followed by the operating system of the phone, with the other items on the spec sheet like RAM and storage capacity coming after. Brand loyalists, on the other hand, make up for less than a quarter buyers, according to the research.
The research also shows that most of those who buy smartphones these days conduct a lot of research on their own before buying. A vast majority (80%) also actively searched for information online, with over half making at least a Google search for phone reviews. This applies to both genders, as well as to those in both urban and rural areas.
On that note, the research showed that those living in rural areas were slightly more likely to buy their phones online than urban dwellers. It also shows that, ideally, slightly over half of Malaysians would chose to get a new phone every two years or sooner. That said, as it is nearly half of the participants of the research are already doing so.
One could argue that the research’s sample size of 929 isn’t exactly large enough to represent all smartphone users in the country. Nevertheless, these are interesting insights into the phone buying habits of Malaysians, to be sure.
