No object stirs such demand for allegiance as the smartphone. Once an Apple iPhone user always an iPhone user; the same goes for devices from Samsung, Google, LG and so on. But with the abundance of smartphone options, there's always the temptation to break the status quo and test out other brands, especially with all those Android phones competing for your attention.
Among Android phones, it appears Samsung doesn't have much to worry about when it comes to retaining loyal customers. In a survey released today (July 31) by trade-in site BankMyCell, Samsung leads Android phones with 63.9% trade-in brand loyalty, while just 10.8% of users stuck with their HTC device.
If BankMyCell sounds familiar, that's the trade-in site that produced a report claiming iPhone loyalty was dropping among owners of Apple's smartphones. The methodology is the same here, with the site measuring loyalty by retention trends. In other words, a consumer is loyal if they are trading in a phone for another phone produced by the same company.
Of course, the data only comes from those customers who agreed to participate in the survey — which BankMyCell said included 64,000 individuals between January and July 2019 — but it still offers a glimpse into the competition within the ever-growing smartphone market.
Which Android brand retains the most users?
Samsung still trails Apple for user loyalty, even as iPhone trade-ins for phones from other brands is at the highest point it's been since 2011, according to BankMyCell. But the loyalty gap is closing between the two leading smartphone makers.
Google comes in third, with 51% trade-in brand loyalty in BankMyCell's report. LG follows with 40.7% loyalty, then Motorola with 37.9%. HTC has the lowest brand loyalty, with 82.9% of owners trading in for a different Android brand.
BankMyCell didn't include Huawei in their study, given the difficulty in buying the Chinese phone maker's devices in this country.
Which Android brand are users switching to?
Customers looking to trade-in their current Android phone for one from a different brand switch to Samsung more than any other company. Those who already own a Samsung phone and are looking for a change are most likely to switch to an iPhone, but LG is the second most common option.
If you're looking for a new smartphone brand, we found the Samsung's Galaxy S10 Plus to be the best Android phone available (though the iPhone XS Max remains the best phone overall). In fact, five different Samsung phones made our list.
