Are you curious to know if this year brought any changes in the tastes and preferences of Singaporeans? We have just entered in the third quarter of 2014 and it is interesting to know which are some of the new buying trends and habits that drive our choices.
According to the Nielsen report, Decoding the Asian Mobile Consumer, the smartphone penetration in Asia Pacific is experiencing an exponential growth in the recent years, arriving at one point that surpasses the penetration in US and many European countries. And guess what? Singapore leads this list, having the highest penetration growth by 87%! It can bring some problem of digital addiction in Singapore, but it also means that more and more people have access to new technologies.
Let’s have a look at the smartphones sold since January of this year until the end of June. A team of experts from PricePanda analyzed for you what affects smartphone owners in taking their decisions.
Also read: Predict 2014’s FIFA World Cup Winner And Win A Smartphone Worth S$719!
Samsung Galaxy S5
The top choice is the Samsung Galaxy S5. This Korean manufacturer introduced this smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) held in Barcelona. This is a phone which was rumored for a long time, keeping everyone curious and eager to know everything about it. Social media has also done its part boosting the expected features and specifications before it was unveiled. This is a strong reason for the Galaxy S5 being the top of the list. However, we need to admit that the hype caused by this device is not too shocking as it truly is a great and powerful device worth buying. Most of the rumored characteristics resulted to be true, surprising everyone with how innovative Samsung can be. If you are not yet convinced on how much social media can influence purchase decisions, maybe some numbers will give you a clear view:
– 4 in 10 social media users have purchased a product after sharing it, or marking as favorite in Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
– 71% of consumers are likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals.
– The most popular medium for the social referrals is Facebook with 30.8%.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
The second best sold smartphone is the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. First question that comes to mind is: Again, Samsung? This is another indicator telling us that Singaporeans are more into Samsung phones. The Galaxy Note 3 offers great features at a more affordable price compared to other premium smartphones. Price is, after all, a strong factor that affects and sometimes rules our choice. DualSim smartphones are a new trend which people have embraced and is another feature we want to see in a smartphone. The Note 3 offers this option, giving users an opportunity to make a clear cut between office and private life. When this smartphone was released in September 2013, it had 64, 010 searches on Google for just that month. Even now, for the month of June it has an average of 9, 900 searches from Singaporeans.
Apple iPhone 5
Apple couldn’t be left out of this list. After all the marketing campaigns and great features, it has made plenty of fans all over the globe. The design is very elegant and catches your eye right away. The most favorite color for people living in Singapore is black. The iPhone 5 gives you access to a great world of apps and games designed specifically for its software. So far, we can conclude that new technologies are given a higher priority compared to the price. Seems like we love the latest innovations and of course it is better to spend money on something we like. Another reason for this choice, is the strong presence of brand recognition. Around 176, 780 people were searching online for the iPhone 5 in the month of May.
LG Nexus 5
The Nexus 5 is a successful collaboration between LG and Google. Since it is an Android smartphone, this gives us another indicator of the favorite operating system. There are 5 smartphones in this list, 4 of which belong to the Android family. The LG Nexus 5 has a simple yet sophisticated design. Android’s user interface is based on direct manipulation and allows for a smooth and fast performance. As you can see from the chart below, Android rules iOS by 10%.
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Samsung Galaxy S4
The Galaxy S4 is positioned at the fifth position. Seems like Singaporeans love big screens. For this and other additional reasons, they choose to be loyal to this brand. The S4 may not be as new as other flagship smartphones, but it offers everything you need for an even cheaper price. In our buying habits, we try to reach a combination between quality and price, getting the best of each. The S4 is a device that satisfy this equilibrium by offering great specifications at an affordable price. The Galaxy S4 is still frequently searched for in Singapore, even with the new models being released. On average 16, 850 people search online for this product and check its features and specifications.
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After having a close look at the top 5 best sold smartphones, we can conclude that new
technologies are very important for Singaporeans. According to their choices, it is better to spend money and get the newest possible models. They are mostly keen on Android smartphones and prefer smartphones with bigger screens. Samsung smartphones are the so far the favorite of the masses and many users are loyal to this brand.
Also read: Samsung GALAXY S5 Review – Everything You Need To Know
This article is originally contributed by Pricepanda.