Analyst Michael Levin holds that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may find it difficult to retain loyalty of the customers at a time when its arch rival Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) launches a new range of handsets next month. Apple will go through some hitches in keeping its tech savvy user base intact in this niche category of the market, says a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Rivals flooding the market with new devices
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is gearing up and has asked its suppliers to ship high end and low priced versions of the iPhone. Rivals Sony Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:SNE) and Samsung are flooding the market with new devices ahead of the launch by the iPhone maker. How much customers trust Apple will once again be tested with both companies launching their gadgets in advance.
Michael Levin, an analyst with Consumer Intelligence Research Partners LLC, told CIO Journal that it will be a major task for Apple to keep up its level of loyalty as the market is rich with many good products. Additionally, Korean electronics firm Samsung will make an effort to turn the limelight away from Apple.
Levin says that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may find it difficult to maintain its lead as rival Samsung is providing more choices at a time when consumers have become more price sensitive.
Consumer loyalty has been highest for Apple so far
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been able to poach one of five customers from the users of rival operating system Android, as per the survey published last week by Consumer Intelligence. On the other hand, Samsung could get hands on only 7 percent of its customers from Apple’s iOS.
According to the research, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has turned out to be the winner in protecting its customer loyalty even when Google’s Android is running way ahead in the overall competition. Users of Samsung were mostly first time smartphone users, with 37 percent leaving basic devices compared to 26 percent for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
In the previous quarter, Android garnered a 79.3 percent market share, an increase from 69.1 percent in the previous year, according to IDC. Apple’s iOS witnessed a decline in its global market share from 16.6 percent to 13.2 percent as per the IDC data.
Apple may retain loyalty based on its app and product ecosystem
Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst, feels that, though the users may get intrigued by the new offerings from Samsung, these customers do not show very deep attachment to the brand. Users who are first time entrants are looking for low priced options whereas Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) customers are high end users with an urbane sense of products, and are attracted to the strength of the app and product ecosystem.
