The association between brand equity and consumer perceptions of smartphones among millennials in Pietermaritzburg.

Abstract

Mobile technologies, particularly smartphones, have become an essential part of millennials’ lives. It is imperative to understand the fundamental building blocks of the influence that brand equity and consumer perceptions have on the purchasing decisions made by millennials in the long haul. Therefore, offering and designing attractive smartphones is crucial to increasing sales and revenue in the mobile industry, especially because the purchasing decision of millennials is still indecipherable and hybrid.

The purpose of this study is to determine the key brand equity associations between consumer perceptions of smartphones among millennials at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg) campus. This study employed a quantitative research approach. A sample of 165 students, between the ages of 24 and 39, who have a smartphone were selected to represent the population.

The data collection process was conducted by means of analysing the respective constructs of this study. Furthermore, the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was employed in this study. Descriptive statistics were presented in the form of graphs and tables, while cross tabulations and chi-square tests were used to present inferential statistics. Lastly, the essence of reliability was tested through Cronbach Alpha statistics. The findings of the study indicated that all key concepts were positively correlated, meaning that a relationship exists between the variables. There were moderate correlations between brand awareness and brand association (r=.537), brand loyalty (r=.518), brand image (r=.558), perceived quality (r=.604), product packaging (r=.649), online and offline presence (r=.538) as well as overall brand equity (r=.540). Weak correlations were shown between brand awareness and product pricing (r=.317) as well as brand values and ethics (r=.354). On the other hand, brand association was highly correlated with brand loyalty (r=.806), brand image (r=.745), perceived quality (r=.722), and overall brand equity (r=.744).

The results obtained in this study had revealed that the overall brand equity in the smartphone industry continues to grow rapidly and the offering in the market becomes more multifaceted. Therefore, it is imperative that organisations incorporate more than just the handset and the whole package from software systems, applications, and network services. Most significantly, it is imperative to understand the fundamental building blocks of the influence that brand equity and consumer perceptions has on the purchasing decisions amongst millennials in the long haul. Hence, offering and designing attractive smartphones are crucial to increase sales and revenue in the mobile industry, especially since smartphones' purchasing decision among millennials is still indecipherable and hybrid.

Keywords: Brand equity, consumer perceptions, smartphones, millennials, University of KwaZulu- Natal, Pietermaritzburg, brand awareness, brand association, brand image, perceived quality, brand loyalty, product pricing, product packaging and brand values and ethics.