About 80 percent of consumers living in Indian urban areas plan to buy a smartphone in the next 12 months, up from 54 percent last year, according to a survey conducted by Accenture.
Nearly 65 percent intend to buy a tablet, an increase from 32 percent the year before.
About 20 percent of respondents indicated they would spend more on broadband access over the next year, while 19 percent suggested they would spend more on mobile services.
Some six percent suggested they would spend less on broadband access, while eight percent thought they would spend less on mobile services.
About 33 percent of respondents suggested they would spend more on devices, compared to last year.
About 18 percent of respondents indicated they were “early adopters” and an additional 17 percent identified themselves as “early majority.”
Early adopters were defined as individuals agreeing with the statement “I like to have the latest products and services and be the first one in my group to have them.”
Early majority was defined as individuals agreeing with the statement “I’m usually one of the first to try out and buy new products and services”
India and South Africa are overrepresented in the early adopter group relative to other countries as are 14 to 17 year olds.
In the U.S. market, some 45 percent of respondents intend to buy a smartphone, compared with 35 percent last year. About 33 percent plan to buy a tablet versus 18 percent last year, according to the Accenture study.
The survey, of 6,000 consumers in six countries, also found high interest in “phablet” devices which have screens five to seven inches diagonally.
Of those respondents who said they plan to buy a smartphone in the next year, 51 percent said they plan to buy a phablet.
The study was conducted in October and November 2013 among 6,021 consumers in 6 countries: Australia, Canada, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The survey polled respondents about interest in buying numerous consumer electronics devices such as: 3D TVs; 4K TVs; basic mobile phones; desktop PCs; ebook readers; GPS navigation devices; in-vehicle entertainment systems; HDTVs; home game consoles; laptop PCs; portable gaming devices; regular TV; TV set-top box/cable boxes; smartphones; tablet PCs, and wearable devices.
Edited by
Maurice Nagle