Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Samsung has remained South Africa’s favourite smartphone brand, according to the South Africa Mobile Report 2017.
The report by Effective Measure and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is based on a survey of nearly 5 000 mobile internet users across the country.
Samsung is four times more popular with consumers than the closest competitor, the report found.
“People recognise Samsung as a leader in the market and use our devices because they most closely match their needs as consumers," said Craige Fleischer, director of integrated mobility at Samsung South Africa.
READ: Samsung investigating Galaxy S8 'iris hack'
The importance of mobile connectivity to consumers is highlighted by the fact that some 78% of those surveyed indicated that the last time they accessed the Internet via their phone was just the day before.
In addition, 35% of the respondents reach for their cell phone to browse the internet first thing in the morning and a further 36% browse on their phone while also watching TV. Some 13% even admitted to connecting while in the bathroom.
"Samsung has always focused on innovation and as such the phone display and user interface are optimised to make browsing the internet easy as possible,” said Fleischer.
The research shows that mobile has well and truly become a daily part of our lives, said Greg Mason, regional lead at Effective Measure for Sub-Saharan Africa.
"We rely on them more than we realise. Businesses marketing to their consumers need to keep this in mind when developing their strategies.”
READ: Smartphones shipments to soar amid overall device slump
One of the most interesting statistics was the increasing number of South Africans who are happy using their phone to purchase items.
Everything from airtime (47%) to apps (25%), books (11%) and concert or event tickets (10%) has been purchased by users in the past year, with a total of two thirds of consumers admitting to having purchased something using their phone.
“The lives of South African consumers are clearly changing as they become more connected than ever,” Fleischer said. "Recognising this, Samsung continues to innovate and deliver better and more sophisticated devices to its users, to enable them to access and enjoy the Internet in new and exciting ways."
Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:
