7 Apps locks loyalty
By Asha

Nearly one in five consumers, who own both an iPad and an iPhone, say switching smartphone is more difficult than changing bank accounts. A simple, integrated user experience is driving consumers’ brand loyalty to their smartphone and they are less likely to switch brands the more applications and services they use on the device, new research from GfK finds.

GfK’s report on UX and loyalty in the digital ecosystem was undertaken across nine countries – Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, UK and the US – and examined consumers’ barriers to switching smartphone types and the impact of their attitudes towards the overall user experience. 

Nearly one in five (19%) of consumers that own both an iPad and an iPhone believe that changing types of smartphone is more difficult than changing bank accounts or gas or electricity providers.

As consumers build digital ecosystems and their own world of content on handsets, the study shows that their loyalty to their smartphone brand increases with the number of apps and services they use. The research reveals that the tipping point for loyalty is when a consumer uses seven or more services on their device.

Consumers in the US are the most likely to use seven or more services (61%), followed closely by China (56%) and Brazil (53%). In comparison to this, European countries use fewer services on their smartphone; France and Italy (46%), Germany (45%), Spain (43%) and the UK (42%).