“Buzz Marketing Group found that Apple’s iDevices are losing ground with the teenage demographic.”
I came across a fellow classmate’s blog post (Millie Wu’s Blog) on Apple gradually losing he teenage market over Samsung and other “cool” android companies. I found it interesting because Apple and Samsung have always been rivals and involved in endless lawsuits. According to Buzz Marketing Group, a youth marketing group, teenagers nowadays are crazy over Samsung Galaxy and Microsoft Surface lines instead of the Apple product lines. While doing a exceptional job in capturing the Generation X and Y market segments, Apple is not doing so well in attaining the younger Millennials’ loyalty.
Indeed, Samsung Galaxy S III has been a success ever since it launched last year. I think one possible explanation for Apple’s decrease in sales with teenagers could be the price. Apple has always adopted the skimming pricing strategy in which the price is usually higher than most of its competitors and targets customers who are willing to pay the premium price to have the innovation. Since Apple products such as iPhone are expensive, parents might just pass their old iPhone to their children, who are still teenagers and do not have stable and high income. Android phones are selling at a lower price with the same functions as iPhone, which means that these teenagers have a higher chance of getting a new phone all to themselves. Another possible explanation for the decreasing popularity of Apple with teenagers could be that Apple lacks “innovation” with their new lines. Comparing with iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 basically has the same function except it is faster with the support of LTE network. On the other hand, Samsung kept on introducing surprising and innovative devices such as Samsung Note II that could be used as a phone and an “iPad mini”, which successfully attracted the younger Millennial generation since they are tech-savvy and values innovation.
I think in order for Apple to gain more market share with the teenagers, it could add more pricing tactics such as bundling, in which Apple could offer a cheaper and more affordable price if a family purchase more than one product or if a student purchases a product. Also, Apple could develop a new product that differentiate itself from the existing lines and capture more teenage segment.
In Millie’s blog, she posted a commercial on Samsung making fun of iPhone and implying that iPhones are for parents and late adopters. I found a similar commercial (Samsung Galaxy Note Ridicules Apple Fans) where Samsung Note depicted iPhone as “boring” and positions itself as “fun” and “innovative.”