Some people feel that older smartphones offer them everything they need and are holding off upgrades.
The mobile technology industry’s smartphone segment is watching its sales slowing and it has been trying very hard to help to make sure consumers burn through their present devices as fast as they can so they will replace them with something new.
However, there is a chunk of the consumer market that isn’t interested in all the latest bells and whistles.
Despite the fact that carrying older forms of mobile technology, such as smartphones that are older than a couple of years or so, there is a sizeable group of consumers who aren’t taken in by all the efforts the smartphone industry is making to try to push them to drop their old tech in favor of larger screens, touchscreens without physical keyboards, or even non-flip phone designs. There are many different reasons that people are choosing to hang on to their older devices instead of upgrading – even when their mobile providers try to woo them with great upgrade deals in order to stick around with them for another year or two.
Many people find that they reach the point that they know and love the mobile technology they have.
These individuals find that their devices perform all the tasks they need to complete and it stops them from handing even more of their lives over to a device they must carry around all the time.
The truth of the matter is that over 90 percent of smartphone owners change models within every span of two years. This, according to Ramon Llamas of IDC mobile phone trend tracking research firm. That said, there is a small but meaningful percentage of the population that is hanging onto their phones for three, four years or more.
While some people don’t want their devices to be as large as today’s typical offerings, others say that they aren’t actually all that impressed with the features currently being offered and they don’t see any reason to sign on to a new contract or hand over hundreds of dollars when their current mobile devices are still working.
Eventually, all mobile technology does need to be replaced in order to keep up with current standards, but it will be interesting to watch the replacement rates over years to come, and to see if people continue to want the latest or if they begin to hang on to what they already have as the novelty of novelty wears off.
Consumers do remain interested in mobile commerce despite their security concerns, of course. Many are likely to use their mobile devices to research products before they make a purchase. This allows shoppers to find better deals or take advantage of special offers coming from certain retailers. When it comes to actually making a purchase, however, the survey from Bankrate.com found that the majority of shoppers prefer to pay with cash, with approximately 30% of consumers preferring to pay with their debit cards.