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February 27, 2007
The NPD Group: What Motivates Mobile Phone Buyers to Buy? Today's favored flip-phone faces emerging challenges for feature-focused consumers

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, February 27, 2007 – According to The NPD Group, a leading consumer and retail information company, features and form factor are the primary motivators of American consumer phone purchases, with flip-phones continuing as a favored phone type.

“With few exceptions, buyers have ranked these two criteria highest (roughly 40 percent) over the past seven quarters,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group. “Experienced phone buyers are zeroing in on familiar criteria. This offers opportunities for handset manufacturers and carriers to educate consumers about emerging capabilities.”

NPD research shows positive signs for handset manufacturers seeking to avoid commoditization. The third most often cited reason for choosing a particular phone is that it is a “good brand,” With phones serving a central role in consumers' daily communications, consumers are turning to trusted names. Furthermore, while low price came in twelfth in the fourth quarter of 2006, consumers will turn away if a price is too high.

According to NPD surveys conducted throughout 2006, age can play a role as well in the purchase of a handset. Among the various age groups, different profiles emerge based on the top purchase motivator. For example, buyers 18 to 24 chose “it’s a cool phone” as their top motivator for buying a handset during the past year. Those 25 to 44 most often chose “had the capabilities I wanted.” And consumers 45 and older, chose “flip phone / can be closed” as their top criterion for purchase.

Based on age and the top purchase motivators, three distinct target groups emerge:

The youngest buyers seek a desirable device that reeks of “cool” (design is key, but the phone has to deliver on functionality, too).
Young to middle-aged buyers want a wide range of capabilities. Getting just the right combination is the trick, so the device must strike a balance between popular must-have features and those that might just be nice to have.
For people just past middle age and the older crowd, a solid flip phone will suffice; however, it shouldn’t lack basic capabilities and the brand is still important, too.

“For vendors to maximize their success, they must strive to match up the motivations of particular demographic groups with the phone that matches their purchase criteria,” Rubin said. “The flip phone has enabled manufacturers to combine a reasonably large screen in a compact form factor. Emerging designs that accommodate larger screens and QWERTY keyboards driven by high-speed data availability must match its convenience and fashion cachet.”

Methodology: The NPD Group’s Mobile Phone Track information service compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Surveys are based on a nationally balanced and demographically representative sample, and results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers. For more information about NPD’s offerings in this business sector, visit http://wireless.npd.com.