What about the pace of smartphone adoption in the UK market? According to experts, the smartphone will reach a penetration level of 80% by January of 2015. That means buyers from the late majority segment are currently adopting smartphones. By the time the laggards get around to buying smartphones, the market will be well into maturity and non-smartphones will be all but finished as mainstream products.
In the UK, smartphone users spend more time on their devices than users in other countries. Content providers are also affected by this penetration level, because more smartphones means higher demand for mobile entertainment, games, etc.
And thanks to this high penetration level, marketers like Sony, Apple and Samsung will be playing a replacement game, which calls for different marketing strategy and tactics (particularly pricing). These three brands accounted for about 75% of the smartphone market in the UK last year.
Already, Apple has debuted lower-priced iPhones, for example. Samsung and Apple are also adding new features (like biometric security) to attract consumers who trade up from older phones.
When will the UK market reach saturation?
