According to a study by marketing technology company Upstream, Samsung and Nokia with 32 per cent and 22 per cent market share respectively are the top mobile brands in the emerging markets like India, Brazil, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
Apple, despite being the leading brand in the West, continues to be the third most preferred brand in the emerging markets. The 2013 Emerging Markets Mobile Attitudes Report published by Upstream surveyed 3,670 adults in Brazil, India, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
The report points out that the price point plays an important role in determining consumer?s choice of a handset. For most of the users this factor takes precedence over the brand value. Almost a third of consumers with limited purchasing power ultimately bypassed their favorite brands and bought devices with similar functionality, but at cheaper prices. There is, however, a strong liking for high end smartphones but only 16 per cent buyers are willing to spend more than $450 on a device. The report finds that brand desirability cannot guarantee success in the emerging markets.
According to the report, mobile is the most used device in emerging markets. It holds more significance than laptops, tablets or desktop PCs. The report shows that 60 per cent of consumers are prepared to spend up to $5 every month on mobile applications, and in Brazil, one of the fastest growing mobile markets, 14 per cent of consumers would pay $10 or above every month.
The report reveals that health and educational contents are accessed most in these countries. The survey results show that over half of all Nigerians (56 per cent), 40 per cent of Indians and over a third of Brazilians (37 per cent) would like to access content or applications relating to health services. Similarly, education-led content is also on high priority in Nigeria, India and Saudi Arabia where 74 per cent, 50 per cent and 40 per cent of respondents, respectively accessed education-led content.
Also, 70 per cent of Indians, 69 per cent of Brazilians, 61 per cent of Saudi Arabians and 78 per cent of Nigerians accessed social networks such as Facebook or Twitter from their mobile phones.
The report points out that the lack of access to credit cards and banking facilities in these regions has meant that the majority of consumers polled expressed an interest in being billed for content and applications by their service providers.
