Android came in second place in the United States market in terms of loyalty. And, even though the loyalty score is not nearly as high as it is for iPhones, people who are using Android are also very likely to buy an Android-based device as their next smartphone.

“Regarding user loyalty, we see that as an individual device, iPhone scores highest, wheras Android owners do not have that loyal relationship their current Android phone – there are hundreds of Android device models nowadays”, said Dr. Hannu Verkasalo, CEO of Zokem, Helsinki, Finland.

“However, as an operating system, Android shows very strong repurchase rates – people who are using Android today are very likely to buy an Android phone as their next device,” he said.

Zokem’s Mobile Life panel study was conducted with 1,500 smartphone users in the U.S..

Imlications for mobile marketers
The implications for mobile marketers are that they should focus on both of these platforms to keep up wth the majority of smartphone users.

Currently, Android and iPhone are the best selling smartphones and Zokem’s analysis confirms that they will strengthen rather than lose their power in the future. It is also clear that both Android and iPhone have their loyal user domains.

When combining loyalty with hugh face time figures and great supply of apps, both iPhone and Android create a powerful media for mobile advertising.

“Android has a significant market share, and Android users show very strong loyalty towards the platform (referring to the repuchase behavior), even though their loyalty towards individual Android phones is not on the same level as iPhone,” Mr. Verkasalo said.

“A cross-platform strategy, at least regarding iPhone and Android, should be applied,” he said. “Other platforms, as can be seen, are going to become even weaker rather than stronger in their position in the future.

“Focus on iPhone and Android, and start all new campaigns and marketing projects on those two platforms. We also encourage to focus analytics and market research activities around Android and iPhone.”

Relevant Zokem charts