Mobile Phones - US - February 2012

SCOPE AND THEMES
What you need to know
Definition
Data sources
Sales data
Consumer survey data
Advertising creative
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The market
Smartphones drive a sales leap
Figure 1: Fan chart forecast of U.S. mobile phone wholesale sales revenues, 2006-16
Feature phones continue their decline
Figure 2: U.S. mobile phone segmentation: smartphones vs. feature phones, at current prices, 2006-16
Consumer costs may rise
Platform battles continue
Figure 3: Service carrier for smartphones and most recently acquired phone, October-November 2011
Hardware vendors continue to consolidate
Marketing messages can be complex
The consumer
Age, income drive smartphone ownership
Figure 4: Smartphone vs. feature phone ownership by age, October-November 2011
Price, battery life drive choice
Significant usage differences seen for smartphones
Users love Apple, but own Samsung
Apps appeal to the young
What we think
INSIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Breaking the two-year cycle
Phones and tablets: Better together
INSPIRE INSIGHTS
Inspire Trend: Minimize Me
Inspire Trend: Why Buy?
MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST
Key points
Smartphones go mainstream—and drive sales
Still some room for average prices to climb
Sales and forecast
Figure 5: Total U.S. manufacturer to dealer sales and forecast for mobile phones, at current prices, 2006-16
Figure 6: Total U.S. sales and forecast for mobile phone services, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2004-14
Figure 7: Total U.S. unit sales and average unit pricing for mobile phones, 2006-12
MARKET DRIVERS
Key points
Mobile phones now do it all
Figure 8: Additional mobile phone services or features used in the last 30 days, by all cellular/mobile phone users, 2007-11
Figure 9: Mobile phone features used in the last 30 days by smartphone users, October-November 2011
Carriers seek to pass on costs
Figure 10: Mobile phone carrier subscribed, 2007-11
Phone platforms continue to battle
Figure 11: Smartphone operating system market share for all users and recent acquirers, Q4 2011
COMPETITIVE CONTEXT
Key points
Tablets: Competitors or cousins?
SEGMENT PERFORMANCE
Key points
Smartphones take over
Figure 12: U.S. mobile phone sales at current prices, by segment, 2010 and 2012
Figure 13: U.S. mobile phone unit sales, by segment, 2010 and 2012
SEGMENT PERFORMANCE—SMARTPHONES
Key points
Smartphones take the lead
Low prices help drive adoption, volume
Pushing price limits on the higher end
Sales and forecast
Figure 14: U.S. sales of smartphones, at current prices, 2006-16
Figure 15: U.S. unit sales and average prices of smartphones, at current prices, 2006-12
SEGMENT PERFORMANCE—FEATURE PHONES
Key points
Sales continue to decline for basic phones
Prices to reach a plateau
Sales and forecast
Figure 16: U.S. sales of feature phones, at current prices, 2006-16
Figure 17: U.S. unit sales and average prices of feature phones, at current prices, 2006-12
RETAIL CHANNELS
Key points
Many choices for phone purchase
Figure 18: Number of U.S. stores run by mobile phone service providers, 2011
Support needs to be seamless
LEADING COMPANIES
Key points
Overview
Figure 19: Global mobile phone sales, by manufacturer, 2010-11
Figure 20: U.S. mobile phone brand market share, by manufacturer, 2010-11
INNOVATION AND INNOVATORS
Aiming for the clouds
Powering up
New phones for photo buffs
MARKETING STRATEGIES
Key points
 OVERVIEW
Television
Apple: Look who’s talking now
Figure 21: Apple iPhone TV ad, talking with Siri, 2011
AT&T promotes Samsung’s speed
Figure 22: AT&T/Samsung TV ad, coworkers ahead of the curve, 2011
BlackBerry aims for cool
Figure 23: RIM TV ad, DJ relies on BlackBerry bold, 2011
Verizon pushes Motorola along with Droid
Figure 24: Verizon Droid ad, 2011
Online advertising
OWNERSHIP AND SPENDING
Key points
Cell phone ownership is near universal
Figure 25: Adult cell/wireless phones ownership, 2005-11
Figure 26: Cell/wireless phones, by key demographics, October 2010-June 2011
Smartphone ownership most strongly correlates with income
Figure 27: Cell phone ownership, feature phone vs. smartphone, by key demographics, October-November 2011
Average spend on mobile phones increases
Figure 28: Amount spent on most recent cell/wireless phone purchase, 2008 and 2011
Figure 29: Amount spent on most recent cell/wireless phone purchase, by key demographics, October 2010-June 2011
PURCHASE DRIVERS
Key points
Price, battery life dominant concerns in phone choice
Figure 30: Incidence of brand and select functions considered “very important” in mobile phone purchase, by gender, October-November 2011
Figure 31: Incidence of brand and select functions considered “very important” in mobile phone purchase, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 32: Incidence of brand and select functions considered “very important” in mobile phone purchase, by household income, October-November 2011
Phone size more important to women and low-income respondents
Figure 33: Incidence of screen and design factors considered “very important” in mobile phone purchase, by gender, October-November 2011
Figure 34: Incidence of screen and design factors considered “very important” in mobile phone purchase, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 35: Incidence of screen and design factors considered “very important” in mobile phone purchase, by household income, October-November 2011
Internet access highly valued by the young
Figure 36: Incidence of network and GPS factors considered “very important” in mobile phone purchase, by gender, October-November 2011
Figure 37: Incidence of network and GPS factors considered “very important” in mobile phone purchase, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 38: Incidence of network and GPS factors considered “very important” in mobile phone purchase, by household income, October-November 2011
Younger respondents most likely to replace phones often
Figure 39: Attitudes to mobile phone cost, screen size and replacement cycle, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 40: Attitudes to mobile phone cost, screen size and replacement cycle, by household income, October-November 2011
PHONE USAGE
Key points
Few younger people rely on phones for basic calling only
Figure 41: Incidence of simple phone use, basic calling only and emergency use only, by key demographics, October 2010-June 2011
Texting, photos most popular phone uses
Figure 42: Additional mobile phone services or features used in the last 30 days by all cellular/mobile phone users, by age, October 2010-June 2011
Figure 43: Additional mobile phone services or features used in the last 30 days by all cellular/mobile phone users, by household income, October 2010-June 2011
Smartphone users do even more with phones
Figure 44: Mobile phone features used in the last 30 days by smartphone users, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 45: Mobile phone features used in the last 30 days by smartphone users, by household income, October-November 2011
PHONE OPERATING SYSTEM PREFERENCES
Key points
Android prevails, but affluent more likely to choose iPhone than most
Figure 46: OS currently on primary cell phone, by gender, October-November 2011
Figure 47: OS currently on primary cell phone, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 48: OS currently on primary cell phone, by household income, October-November 2011
iOS, Android seemingly equal on ease of use
Figure 49: OS perceived as easiest to use, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 50: OS perceived as easiest to use, by household income, October-November 2011
BRAND PREFERENCE
Key points
Samsung captures a large and diverse audience
Figure 51: Mobile phone brand owned, by age, October 2010-June 2011
Figure 52: Mobile phone brand owned, by household income, October 2010-June 2011
Apple leads in positive perception, Samsung in ownership
Figure 53: Which mobile phone brand is preferred and which is considered to be most cutting edge, October-November 2011
Figure 54: Which mobile phone brand is preferred, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 55: Which mobile phone brand is preferred, by household income, October-November 2011
Apple, HTC considered most cutting edge
Figure 56: Mobile phone brand perceived as most cutting edge, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 57: Mobile phone brand perceived as most cutting edge, by household income, October-November 2011
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATIONS
Key points
Consumers interested in doing more with phones
Figure 58: Attitudes and opinions about cell phones, by age, October 2010-June 2011
Figure 59: Attitudes and opinions about cell phones, by household income, October 2010-June 2011
Interest in phones as gifts for children varies with age group
Figure 60: Attitudes to cell phones as a gift for children, by gender of parent, October-November 2011
Figure 61: Attitudes to cell phones as a gift for children, by age of parent, October-November 2011
Loyalty to phone platforms is not intense
Figure 62: Attitudes to mobile phone OS, by gender, October-November 2011
Figure 63: Attitudes to mobile phone OS, by age, October-November 2011
ADVANCED PHONE USAGE
Key points
Interest in apps peaks with the young
Figure 64: Application downloading, by key demographics, October-November 2011
Comparatively few users pay for downloads
Figure 65: Lack of participation in paid application downloading, by key demographics, October-November 2011
3-D phone capabilities still not in the mainstream
Figure 66: Interest in 3-D cell phones, by age, October-November 2011
Figure 67: Interest in 3-D cell phones, by household income, October-November 2011
TEENS AND KIDS
Key points
Teen phone ownership continues to rise
Figure 68: Teen cell/wireless phones ownership, 2006-11
Figure 69: Teen cell/wireless phones ownership, by gender and age, April 2010-June 2011
Figure 70: Teen cell/wireless phone brands owned, by gender and age, April 2010-June 2011
Texting, photos important applications for teens
Figure 71: Additional mobile phone services or features used by teens in the last 30 days, by gender and age, April 2010-June 2011
Figure 72: Teen attitudes and opinions about cell phones, by gender and age, April 2010-June 2011
Opportunity remains to grow phone usage for children
Figure 73: Kids cell/wireless phones ownership, 2008-11
Figure 74: Kids cell/wireless phones ownership, by gender and age, April 2010-June 2011
Figure 75: Mobile phone features used by kids, by gender and age, April 2010-June 2011
IMPACT OF RACE/HISPANIC ORIGIN
Key points
Asians, Hispanics strong adopters of mobile technologies
Figure 76: Cell phone ownership, feature phone vs. smartphone, by race/Hispanic origin, October-November 2011
Figure 77: Amount spent on most recent cell/wireless phone purchase, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-June 2011
Figure 78: Mobile phone brand owned, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-June 2011
Blacks, Hispanics value smartphone entertainment features
Figure 79: Additional mobile phone services or features used in the last 30 days by all cellular/mobile phone users, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-June 2011
Figure 80: Mobile phone features used in the last 30 days by smartphone users, by race/Hispanic origin, October-November 2011
CUSTOM CONSUMER GROUPS
Interest in advanced phone features rises with education
Figure 81: Attitudes and opinions about cell phones, all vs. college graduates, October 2010-June 2011
AT&T leads in iOS owners, Verizon in Android
Figure 82: OS currently on primary smartphone by service carrier for primary cell phone, October-November 2011
Figure 83: App downloading, by service carrier for primary cell phone, October-November 2011
Figure 84: App downloading by service carrier for primary cell phone, October-November 2011
APPENDIX: OTHER USEFUL CONSUMER TABLES
By gender
Figure 85: Which mobile phone brand is preferred, by gender, October-November 2011
Figure 86: Mobile phone brand perceived as most cutting edge, by gender, October-November 2011
By household income
Figure 87: Attitudes to mobile phone OS, by household income, October-November 2011
APPENDIX: TRADE ASSOCIATIONS