Proof of App Store Value for Devices

It is by now conventional wisdom that the success of a device ecosystem hinges on its application and content richness. 


The Apple iPod needs iTunes, Android requires Google Play. A study by GfK supports the notion.


Consumers are less likely to switch device brands the more applications and services they use on the device, GfK finds. 


GfK’s report on user experience and loyalty in the digital ecosystem, was undertaken across nine countries including Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States.

Some 19 percent of consumers that own both an iPad and an iPhone believe that changing types of smart phone is more difficult than changing bank accounts or gas or electricity providers, in fact. 

The study shows that their loyalty to their smart phone brand increases with the number of apps and services used. The research reveals that the tipping point for loyalty is when a consumer uses seven or more services on their device. At that point, consumers see themselves as locked in to a device ecosystem. 

Consumers in the United States are the most likely to use seven or more services (61 percent), followed closely by China (56 percent) and Brazil (53 percent). In comparison to this, European countries use fewer services on their smartphone; France and Italy (46 percent), Germany (45 percent), Spain (43 percent) and the UK (42 percent).