LG Gains over Q4-2013, but still losing customers

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) released results of its research on mobile phone manufacturers for the calendar quarter that ended March 31, 2014. This analysis features findings about consumer trends in mobile phone brands from January-March 2014.

CIRP finds that Apple had a greater share of mobile phone sales than Samsung, and that together the two brands dominate the US market (see chart).

Phone Brand Share of Activations



Apple led the market, but still saw its share of US sales decline to 42% from 48% last quarter - the first full quarter of iPhone 5S and 5C sales. Samsung was fairly steady and LG saw a strong single quarter increase from 8% to 13% share of phone sales.

CIRP also analyzed shifts among brands. On that basis, Apple gained the most customers from other brands. For customers who bought a phone in the quarter, Apple grew from a 30% share of those customers at the beginning of the quarter to 42% at the end. Samsung was steady with 28% of these buyers at the beginning of the quarter and 49% at the end. All other brands had net losses of customers in the quarter (see chart).

Brand Share, Relative to Beginning of Quarter



As a percentage of customers that already owned one or another brand, Apple stood out in attracting customers from other brands. Samsung saw a slight gain and all other brands lost share. Interestingly, even with their strong recovery, LG is still losing market share, albeit more slowly. New phone buyers this quarter retired more LG phones than they bought.

CIRP bases its findings on a survey of 500 US subjects, from April 1-6, 2014, that activated a new or used phone in the January - March 2014 period.

For additional information, please contact CIRP.