Samsung devices pushed by carriers far more than Apple or Nokia

posted by Michael H.

Aug 08, 2014, 4:14 PM

Samsung devices pushed by carriers far more than Apple or Nokia

Samsung is one of the best selling smartphone manufacturers in the world, even with a recent dip in sales, and the reason for that is usually chalked up to a combination of a huge marketing budget, and tons of different phone models at every price point. But, it turns out there might be something else at work, because Kantar Worldpanel has found that carriers tend to push Samsung devices far more than anything else.

According to the Kantar study:

63% of consumers who bought a device in [Q1 2014] were recommended a Samsung device, more than double the rate of recommendation for Apple, and almost 10 times more than Nokia... 59% of buyers who were recommended a Samsung phone went ahead and bought one while the rest opted for other vendors in the Android ecosystem... only 6% of consumers who were recommended Samsung walked out of the store with an iPhone.

Of course, the raw numbers don't really speak to the important why of it all. It has been a longstanding practice for manufacturers to offer small rewards to carrier employees for pushing their devices, but there is also incentive for carriers to not push Apple devices specifically. Apple already commands very high subsidies, and more Apple sales means more power for Apple, and possibly even higher subsidies, which are bad for carriers. Although, the same thing could be said about Samsung and its subsidies, so this is definitely a phenomenon that needs more investigating.

source: Kantar via BGR

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41 Comments

40. sbw44

Posts: 433; Member since: Dec 04, 2012

Its one thing to push these phones to new customers or to the average Joe's but to try and force it to people who already made up their mind on which phones they gonna take is what pisses me of. I had multiple times where carrier reps would wear samsung tshirts try to force me to by a galaxy s4 by stating blatant lies on how the s4 had way better build quality and a wat beter camera than a lumia 1020

posted on Aug 09, 2014, 4:19 PM 0

32. chaoscauser

Posts: 39; Member since: Jun 04, 2014

There is procurement issue too. Samsung will cut supply if sales is not good. And Apple acts like a king even though they are a just seller and carriers are customers.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 11:47 PM 0

28. Taters

Posts: 6474; Member since: Jan 28, 2013

Isn't this obvious? Samsung phones are easy to push because of the brand name and most importantly, Samsung gives everyone a cut. Apple takes all the profits and cuts out the middle man completely. The reason carriers even carry Apple products at all is because the products bring people to stores and carriers can make a load off of Apple accessories. This was well documented back then. Some large Japanese carrier didn't wouldn't carry iPhones until they worked out a deal for some of that profit margin.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 10:15 PM 0

26. gigaraga

Posts: 1454; Member since: Mar 29, 2013

Well that's obvious. It's because Samsung phones are uncountable miles ahead of the other two mentioned companies. Oh and better marketing too.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 9:34 PM 1

25. nithyakr

Posts: 161; Member since: Jun 20, 2014

If it was Apple, Fandroids will bash Apple and carriers saying "Apple bribed carriers" etc. But since its Samsung look how happy they are.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 8:39 PM 1

21. joey_sfb

Posts: 6794; Member since: Mar 29, 2012

Most people should already know what they want and those who don't will get the most popular. That's iPhone or Samsung for its removable battery and MicroSD just like their older phone before the popularity of iPhone lack of removable battery and MicroSD storage took hold.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 7:59 PM 0

18. tacarat

Posts: 854; Member since: Apr 22, 2013

If you have an iPhone, I usually don't want to sell you an android or vice versa. Most people can't or won't adjust to the new OS. It's a waste of a reps time and a new phone to try converting most people.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 7:03 PM 0

20. wilsong17 unregistered

So you are saying ifans are not smart enough to get to know android open system

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 7:44 PM 0

22. tacarat

Posts: 854; Member since: Apr 22, 2013

I'd say it's an inflexibility issue rather than an intelligence issue. I won't go iOS for similar reasons. Cluttered, rigid UI, etc.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 8:15 PM 1

17. brasstax

Posts: 546; Member since: Apr 16, 2014

I swear my English has gotten worse from the time I started going through some of the comments on this site. Granted, not everyone's first language is English. It's not mine either. But at least make an effort to learn & get better. Punctuation also helps. I do not mean to offend anyone in particular. Just expressing my honest opinion. If anyone thinks my comments are wrong, I apologize

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 6:51 PM 1

16. PAPINYC

Posts: 2315; Member since: Jul 30, 2011

It makes absolute sense from a retail standpoint: why would a sales person recommend an iNferior product which ultimately will only be returned, thereby killing a business' profit margin and the sales person's commission. A happy customer never returns a product, while an unhappy customer is just iNsufferable!

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 6:33 PM 0

14. je2345

Posts: 63; Member since: May 05, 2009

Samsung phones are pushed more from carriers because Samsung gives incentives to employees and customers. Also Samsung devices are cheaper usually and Samsung's marketing is on par with Apple so now people walk in wanting a "Galaxy" not even knowing that it is an Android device (sorta like people wanting an iPhone but don't even know what it is) and employees go with it because its an easy sale vs asking the customer questions that better fits their lifestyle. Apps & what other people have is all people want nowadays vs what works best for that specific customer. Also...Samsung now pays us less than iPhones and even some basic phones, which is rediculous. Just saying!

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 5:46 PM 0

11. A_Steal

Posts: 16; Member since: Feb 14, 2013

Honest answer from someone who used to sell phones for a living. It's about pay. Everyone knows that salesmen are paid commissions. Most retailers pay those based off of the profit margins of a phone. Apple charges carriers a higher price to get the phone, so there is less profit in it. Dealers will sell the phones that make them money. Management is there to make sure the company stays profitable, and if the iphone nets them half what the galaxy does they will push the galaxy. If both phones make an equal amount it will come down to dealer preference.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 5:14 PM 3

12. Jommick

Posts: 221; Member since: Sep 10, 2013

I also used to sell phones; I worked directly for AT&T. Samsung devices are pushed in telesales because they're generally on sale, the price has override options unlike Apple, and they're less of a fraud risk, so less chance of order cancellation and having a chargeback taken from you.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 5:35 PM 0

23. A_Steal

Posts: 16; Member since: Feb 14, 2013

Exactly. Charge backs are a huge problem. Most people don't realize that reps are punished for phones that are returned or that go on accounts that do not meet certain time requirements. Some companies even go as far as charging monetary losses to the sales rep on phones that are sold fraudulently even if the rep had no idea it was fraud. iPhones are expensive and no one would want that to come back on them.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 8:20 PM 0

7. motocraze

Posts: 5; Member since: Aug 07, 2014

I wonder how will the android silver program will work out.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 4:49 PM 0

6. The-Sailor-Man

Posts: 1095; Member since: Mar 25, 2014

What if the answer is , HOTESTY?? Ppl come and ask for the best phone for the money, and they get honest answer- Samsung phone. By the way I don't believe it because all the sellers in US(and not only) are fanatic iboys. Fanatics have not honesty.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 4:46 PM 2

5. gnotch

Posts: 19; Member since: Dec 31, 2013

because carriers can put their bloatware on samsung because they're android devices ~ thats the real reason they push samsung more.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 4:43 PM 6

8. The-Sailor-Man

Posts: 1095; Member since: Mar 25, 2014

Ignorant iboy. LOL But not only Samsung is Android device. Right? Try again!

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 4:52 PM 10

10. bucky

Posts: 3797; Member since: Sep 30, 2009

To the average consumer it is, unfortunately.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 5:02 PM 8

15. Armchair_Commentator

Posts: 222; Member since: May 08, 2014

That doesn't even make sense, but I kinda do miss it, both my note 2 and G3 have bload galore lol

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 5:59 PM 0

19. gnotch

Posts: 19; Member since: Dec 31, 2013

nope but it the most popular android device so...yea my point still stands. whether android fans believe it or not, i know you all hate bloatware as did i. when i had android i was eager to root my device because bloatware was annoying ~ so you telling me carriers can put bloatware on apple and windows to?

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 7:14 PM 1

27. Damo579

Posts: 268; Member since: May 18, 2013

Windows phone has carrier bloat but you can uninstall it.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 9:50 PM 1

34. elitewolverine

Posts: 5192; Member since: Oct 28, 2013

Not as much as others, tmobile has their apps, and it does come with stuff like slacker. But all can be uninstalled. Took less than 5mins to get rid of them. And about 30 mins to download 90apps to my 925 (did a reset as a instore example).

posted on Aug 09, 2014, 2:01 AM 0

37. Cicero

Posts: 1166; Member since: Jan 22, 2014

They put alot of bloatware only in US and UK. In the rest of Europe they are acting light with good quality stuff and you can remove that if your choice.

posted on Aug 09, 2014, 4:33 AM 0

3. Liveitup

Posts: 1798; Member since: Jan 07, 2014

Carriers are a joke they should promote different platforms in a more neutral manner, its ok in the future they may well come to realise their mistakes. Apple had them on edge a few years ago dictating prices and such. The hardheaded rarely learns. True Competition is healthy.

posted on Aug 08, 2014, 4:37 PM 2

1. sip1995

Posts: 1771; Member since: Feb 07, 2014

Don't fight....you don't owns these companies, so stay calm. okay you chose android, IOS or Windows phone, but everyone gets what he wants.....so relax :)