Indians don’t want to buy newer smartphones, would rather buy services: Accenture survey

MUMBAI: India considered to be one of the fastest growing markets for smartphones may be reaching a saturation point as most of the people are not looking to upgrade their phones in next 12 months, according to a digital consumer survey by Accenture. On the other hand many people are looking to increase their spend on services.
“Only 48 per cent of consumers plan to purchase a smartphone in the next 12 months; this is a six-point drop from the purchase intent rate last year and a more than nine-point drop from the 2014 peak,” Accenture said in the survey. In 2014 as many as 80% of the people wanted buy a new smartphone.

However more people who already have a smartphone may be spending their money on the 3G or 4G services in the coming years. “In India, about 32% said they plan to increase spending on mobile services in the next year,” the survey said.

Smartphones may just not be the only gadgets that Indians are not willing to purchase in the coming 12-months. “Globally, in addition to the six-point drop in purchase intent for smartphones, the survey revealed a nine-point drop in purchase intent for tablets, an eight-point drop in televisions and a 6 point drop for laptop computers. Overall, 20 per cent plan to decrease spending versus only 7 per cent in 2014,” the survey said.