The smartphone market has been growing rapidly over the past few years, with smartphone adoption spreading across the population. The youth market is also picking up this trend and the numbers who want or own a smartphone device are growing. So which smartphones are being adopted by future generations and why?

A smartphone for Christmas

The youth market for mobile devices is swiftly rising, and the age at which children acquire their first mobile phone is getting younger and younger. It is estimated that over 90% of 12-15 year olds already have a mobile phone and the number of smartphone acquisitions in this market is also growing [1]. Considering that a large amount of mobile phones acquired by the youth market are being gifted and are often from the medium to high-end price range, it is not surprising that the youth market are picking up the smartphone trend. Also, considering that most of the time it is the end-user that is influencing purchase of the gift, it is interesting to find out what are driving these decisions [1].

Blackberry handset acquisition is on the rise

GfK Technology has gathered key information from 12-15 year olds that demonstrate how the acquisitions of Blackberry handsets are significantly higher than other smartphone brands in recent years. Demand for Blackberry has been growing consistently, making up 21% of all mobile handset acquisitions for 12-15 year olds in December 2010, in comparison to just 7% for Apple and HTC [2]. This is an exceptional figure considering that just 2 years ago the demand for Blackberry handsets in this age range was almost nonexistent.

Young people want Blackberries because they are affordable and social

So what is driving this trend? Further data gathered from 16-24 year olds [3] show that the youth market are most likely to consider purchasing a Blackberry for its value for money, design and BBM functionality. BBM is an instant messaging application for Blackberry handsets that allows its users to send free instant messages to other Blackberry devices. This shows how the affordability of the low-end Blackberry handsets, such as the Blackberry Curve, along with the device’s highly social capability is important in attracting young people.

For Blackberry devices, the most prominent channels of influence affecting the youth market come from advertising (56% had seen a Blackberry advert) and social influence (47% know someone that owns a Blackberry). It could be said that this word of mouth influence and feeling of ‘belonging’ within a social group is key to Blackberry handset adoption. Especially considering that just a few years ago Blackberries were mainly considered to be business phones, it is a dramatic turnaround that may have been driven, in part, by Blackberry’s recent advertising campaigns.

The iPhone represents more of an aspirational demand from young consumers

Despite the fact that actual acquisitions in the youth market show that Blackberry device adoption is on the rise, data gathered from respondents in the 16-24 age range show that 45% were considering purchasing Apple in comparison to only 35% that were considering Blackberry. When looking at the reasons Apple iPhone devices were being considered, the results are very different. Those from the youth market that were considering the iPhone were most likely to be influenced to buy for the ‘apps’, to be part of the fashion and for the iPhone’s design. Only 4% were influenced to buy because they thought the phone represented good value for money. It appears that the iPhone is a device that many aspire to purchase but the lack of affordable deals on the handset are pushing even more young customers to more affordable alternatives such as Blackberry, Nokia or HTC.

Nokia provides best value for money, but young consumers are looking for something more

Only 18% of respondents in the 16-24 age range are considering purchasing a Nokia for their next phone, despite the fact that 55% of them currently own or had previously owned a Nokia smartphone before. The reasons that young people had considered Nokia shows that purchase is largely driven by value for money or a good promotion on the handset. In fact, from all the smartphones that young respondents considered purchasing, Nokia had the highest consideration for cost and value for money.

HTC could be eating into Nokia’s share of the youth market

Young consumers are now just as likely to consider the HTC brand as they are to consider the Nokia brand, and this is mainly being fuelled by desire for the ‘touchscreen’, ‘apps’ and ‘design’ offered by HTC. All of these considerations are significantly higher in those looking to purchase HTC than Nokia. HTC represents an affordable version of the iPhone experience (with the touchscreen and android apps available) whereas Nokia users still consider the phone to be good for basic functions but do not seem to associate the brand with these key smartphone features.

The importance of portfolio

It is important for manufacturers to have a wide portfolio of devices to initially hook young consumers and then retain them as they get older, when affordability becomes less of an issue. In order for manufacturers to retain young consumers, they need to focus on strengthening their family of devices so the youth can aspire within the product range rather than looking towards competitor devices.

Currently, Apple, RIM, Nokia and HTC are all performing well in the youth market for different reasons. Nokia is particularly successful with their lower-end devices, Apple is attracting consumers seeking high-end capabilities and HTC is quickly catching up as an innovative yet affordable alternative. Blackberry’s unique combination of highly social yet affordable phones, where owning one contributes to feeling of ‘belonging’ within a community, is faring well in the youth market.

Therefore, young consumers’ insatiable appetite for better features and advanced services suggests that the provider with the strongest range and portfolio of devices is more likely to attract and retain consumers from an early age.

[1] GfK Research Panels: Kids Mobile Phone Market Report Q110

[2] GfK Kids Consumer Panel (December 2010)

[3] Omnibus data (March 2011)

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Tags: Acquisition, Adoption, Affordability, Android, Apps, Aspirations, BBM, Blackberry, Drivers, HTC, Innovation, iPhone, Mobile, Nokia, RIM, Smartphones, Sociability, Youth Market