iPhone 6S Launch prompts mass trade-in drive for iPhone 5S. Samsung trade ins fall
Data from the UK’s trade-in comparison site CompareMyMobile has found – perhaps not surprisingly – iPhone 5S trade-ins were up 196% in the four weeks after the launch of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus devices on 9 September, while iPhone 6 Plus and 6 users trailed closely behind with trade-ins up 190% and 145% respectively.
Meanwhile the company found that for the first time, Samsung trade-ins actually fell by 17% in the four weeks after the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus launch. However, despite increased Samsung loyalty, a survey by the comparison website found 21.4% of participants were switching from Samsung devices to the iPhone 6S, while 45.7% were already loyal iPhone users.
The survey also revealed that 3D Touch Technology was the biggest standout feature of the new iPhone 6S range according to 32.5% of participants, while 17.9% of customers surveyed said none of the selling points were impressive enough in the new device, claiming “Apple needs to improve its features.”
Technological advances aside, it seems consumers are still sold by visuals, as 16.3% of people were most excited by the iPhone’s new rose gold colour. Meanwhile a staggering 81.9% of participants said they would not consider buying an iPhone 6C if it was launched by Apple.
Ashley Turner, co-founder and director of CompareMyMobile said: “iPhone 6 trade-in spikes show that consumers are less content with waiting two years to upgrade, as their need for the very latest tech grows.
“On the other hand, it seems Samsung customers are becoming more loyal to the brand, this could be related to Samsung’s huge marketing push to compete with Apple in the past year.
“With the next big Samsung release due this coming February, it will be interesting to see what happens with trade-ins as the battle for market share continues between the two mega brands.”
The survey was launched on CompareMyMobile.com on 09/09/15, and collected data from 2,003 participants
