Survey: iPhone owners spend more, have higher incomes than Android users

Brief:

• IPhone owners tend to have higher incomes and spend more on technology than Android users do, according to a survey by crowdsourced shopping platform Slickdeals. Those who use iPhones have an average annual salary of $53,251, making them more likely to splurge on shopping than Android users, whose average salary is $37,040, per the survey.
• IPhone owners are generally happier than Android users, the survey found, and have greater spending power. These users reported spending an average of $117 a month on clothes, compared to $62 a month for Android owners. Additionally, iPhone users spend $101 on technology and $83 on makeup products, compared to $51 and $40, respectively, by Android users.
• Android owners say they’re more frugal and inclined to frequently seek out deals and discounts. Slickdeals asked 1,000 iPhone and 1,000 Android users about their behaviors, lifestyle choices, personality traits and spending habits for the survey.

Insight:

Slickdeals’ survey shows that there’s been little change in the typical profile for iPhone and Android users over the years, even as some Android phone makers have come out with higher-priced, feature-rich devices. For mobile marketers, this means they need to consider consumer differences when planning ad campaigns targeting various segments of smartphone owners. IPhone and Android users have distinct personality traits in addition to differences between household incomes and spending power, which could inform marketers as they seek to reach these consumers. IPhone users also show higher engagement on their devices. They spend an average of 4 hours and 54 minutes a day looking at their phone, compared to 3 hours and 42 minutes for Android users, per Slickdeals’ survey.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that iPhone users are introverted couch potatoes glued to their screens. IPhone users said they enjoy going out, meeting people and experiencing new things, whereas Android owners reported a preference for spending time indoors reaching or watching TV, the survey found.

It’s no secret that Apple’s products are priced for the luxury market with the latest iPhone XS Max topping out at $1,449 — more than many desktop and laptop computers — although installment payments make its smartphones more obtainable for a mass market. This year, Apple changed its product strategy to introduce its higher-priced phones a month before releasing a lower-cost model, the iPhone XR with a starting price of $749, which started shipping last week in time for the holiday season. Apple last month boosted smartphone revenue by 7% from a year earlier with the release of the iPhone XS, XS Max and sell-through of remaining inventory of the original X, according to a study by Oath’s Flurry Analytics.