Apple Inc. (AAPL) Customers Are More Brand Loyal: Raymond James

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares have tanked almost 40 percent from their all-time highs over concerns of Samsung’s rising dominance in the smartphone industry. However, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a loyal customer base who keep buying more and more of Apple gadgets, according to research by Raymond James.

The consumer web survey conducted by Raymond James in late March found some interesting facts about the smartphone market.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) Customers Are More Brand Loyal: Raymond James

The survey found that 53 percent of iPhone users indicated that they would upgrade their smartphone this year. Among non-iPhone users, only 43 percent wanted to upgrade.

This 10 percent difference results into five million additional iPhone sales in the United States alone every year. Overall, 47 percent respondents plan to upgrade their smartphones this year.

Raymond James analysts Tavis McCourt and Daniel Toomey said that only 22 percent of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone users are planning to upgrade their smartphone users may switch to other platforms, compared to 43 percent Android users who would consider switching to other platforms.

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Among iPhone users who plan to upgrade this year, only 18 percent said they would buy iPhone 5, while 60 percent want to purchase the new model (maybe iPhone 5S). It indicates that the upgrade sales for iPhone 5 would remain sluggish until the next iPhone hits the market.

When asked about what would encourage them to upgrade their iPhones, 37 percent said that a lower price would be an important factor, while 6 percent said a larger screen would lure them to upgrade their iPhones.

About 30 percent of the iPhones users said they would purchase a larger screen iPhone even if that costs $100 more. So, analysts believe that even if the larger screen iPhone fails to bring a large number of new users, it would create a substantial upgrade cycle.

Purchase Requirements

The loyalty of iPhone users is reflected in the fact that 41 percent of iPhone users said they would like to own an Apple-branded TV. But only 18 percent non-iPhone users expressed interest in purchasing an Apple-branded TV.

Raymond James analysts said that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) consumers have more interest in owning more Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gadgets.

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In comparison to iPhones and Android smartphones, BlackBerry still faces a tough battle. Only 26 percent of the survey respondents were aware of the BlackBerry Z10, compared to 82 percent for Galaxy S4 (which launched a few weeks ago) and 62 percent for iPhone 5S (a product that doesn’t even exist yet).

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were almost flat at $423.24 at 12:47 PM EDT.

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