Android invades classifieds

Data pulled from Gumtree’s ad placements has indicated that a shift has taken place in consumers’ smartphone preferences over the last year with Android phones and tablets making up the majority of mobile devices advertised.

Between January and April 2013, the majority of ads posted under the website’s Mobile Phones and Telephones subcategory were for Blackberry devices, which accounted for roughly 48% of inventory. Thousands of new ads for these multipurpose gadgets were posted each month, suggesting that demand for the products was relatively high at the time.

However, the most recent data shows that the share of ads for Samsung devices has grown from 32% to 43% and now, placements for the Android-powered devices outnumber those for Blackberry devices, which now make up about 39% of total inventory for this category.

Although placements for both smartphone brands took a slight dip in February 2013, perhaps once the post-Christmas sales had come to an end, by the time October rolled around (and potentially users were looking towards the launch of the iPhone 5s) it was clear that the Android-powered devices were well on their way to becoming the most-advertised mobile phones in Gumtree’s inventory.

These statistics suggest that consumers’ electronics preferences have shifted, which could be due to the skyrocketing global popularity of the Android operating system, a system used by 34% of South Africans surveyed.

Gumtree’s data also reveals that the number of ads posted for Apple iPhones and Nokia devices has remained much the same over the past year but it is worth noting that the inventory for these two brands was and still is far lower than stocks of both Blackberry and Samsung. This could be due to the relatively high costs of Apple devices or Nokia’s worldwide declining market share.

Regardless of the brand or operating system, it is interesting to note that of South Africans surveyed, 81% own a smartphone while just 31% own a feature phone (these statistics suggest that some South Africans own both smart and feature phones) and 50% of smartphone users surveyed state that they would feel “lost” without their device.

Smartphones – which can be used for a variety of purposes, including surfing the net – have a significant role to play when it comes to browsing online classifieds sites. 48% of smartphone owners use their device to browse online classifieds at least once a month (if not more) compared to just 12% of feature phone users. However, the number is significantly higher when it comes to tablets – 68% of users of these devices report using tablets to browse online classifieds at least once a month.

Although mobile devices and tablets remain popular when it comes to browsing online classifieds – desktop PCs and laptops are still the device of choice, accounting for 66% of activity. Meanwhile, smartphones and tablets account for 29% and 14% respectively of other online classifieds activity.

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