Study: No money is no issue for smartphone buyers

by Steven Mostyn - Feb 21 2012, 11:10

Whether down to peer pressure, the desire to fit in, or teenage stupidity, it would appear that younger consumer electronics buyers simply cannot resist the draw of cutting-edge smartphones—even when waylaid by a lack of finance.

Specifically, a Nielsen survey covering 20,000 mobile customers in the United States has found that 56 percent of those aged between 18 and 24 have splashed out on a smartphone despite having annual salaries of less than $15,000 USD.

That usage figure drops only slightly to 43 percent across 25 to 34-year-olds who also make less than $15,000 USD per year.

However, advancing age does eventually inspire more pragmatism in those low earners aged over 45, with less than 20 percent showing a willingness to invest in a smartphone.

Given the usage statistics, it would suggest that older consumers on low wages consider smartphones to be something of a luxury, while younger consumers are not constrained by budgetary restrictions and see them as necessities.

Looking at the study’s more general numbers—as in, without taking salaries into account—some 66 percent of those aged between 24 and 35 own a smartphone, with eight out of 10 claiming to have purchased a handset in the last three months.

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