Understanding consumer preferences when it comes to buying a new mobile phones is definitely the million dollar (or billions of RMB) question for manufacturers here in China. Many have put lots of efforts into developing new designs and technology to meet the fast pace consumer demand for newer phones here.So coming up with the perfect phone is fierce competition here in China’s mobile phone market.In a recent national study conducted by ChinaPolling, consumers were asked questions regarding their purchase preferences for mobile phones including their purchase frequencies, types of mobile phone they want to purchase next and their budget.The stats show that the majority (36%) of the mobile phone owners would change their mobile phone within 1 year.When it comes to the actual time they would purchase their next phone, 36% of the consumers responded that they plan to purchase a new mobile phone within next 3 months.

The same study also shows consumers are quite prices conscious when considering buying a new mobile phone.Low end mobile phones with price level less than RMB2, 000 are the most popular price range among all.More than 60% of the consumers have their budget set within this price range.

In terms of the popular mobile phone types, music mobile phone ranked #1 as the most willing to buy mobile phone type, followed by 3G phone, altogether accounted for 62% of overall respondents. Although 3G services are not yet available in China, consumers still showed huge amount of interest in buying a 3G phone.

Further analysis indicates consumers want more multimedia features on their mobile phones. Music mobile phones with large storage and high quality speakers/stereo earphone would no doubt drive the consumers’ impulse to buy.Smart phones with affordable prices such as PDA/Organizing mobile phones also represent a potential market area for manufacturer to explore since it ranked almost neck to neck with the 3G function phones. Having the right capabilities on the phone is definitely the key to attract more buyers.

Number of Samples: 293
Data Capture Period: 2008.2.1 – 2008.2.29

ChinaPolling conducts Omnibus Surveys on an ongoing basis to provide continuous tracking of consumer trends in China.This innovative approach to tracking consumer behavior will allow companies looking to enter the China market to get the most up to date information about what’s hot and what’s not here in China.The 25 question survey for the Mobile Phone industry answers some very basic question of purchase decision for this very competitive category.All real-time datasets are available to purchase online.Additional questions can be added into the Omnibus Survey and field at any time.For more information and to make a purchase, please visit our Online Store.