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One of the more arduous and entirely devoid of joy tasks of adulthood is that of switching financial institutions, which is why most people only do it when they’ve been boned so badly by their bank that there is no possible way they’d ever consider willingly giving said entity another cent of revenue even under the threat of pain of ordering new checks and having to get up and re-enter your debit card number every time you log on to pay a farkakt Macy’s bill.
So perhaps it’s a bit surprising that a new survey reveals that about 20% of smartphone users would rather endure the hassle of changing their account numbers and direct debits in lieu of becoming the owners of a shiny, new smartphone. And if you own a smartphone, you probably totally agree. New toys are awesome, but having to re-enter the information that inevitably does not transfer is one of those low-level, nagging chores that can really inhibit the fun of getting a new device. Users in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, UK and the US responded to the survey and overwhelmingly cited integrated user experiences- like connecting their iPhone and iPad and syncing apps- as the main barrier to trying out new forms of technology in this realm.
The survey was conducted by GfK Group, who writes:
Nearly one in five (19%) of consumers that own both an iPad and an iPhone believe that changing types of smartphone is more difficult than changing bank accounts or gas or electricity providers… Consumers in the US are the most likely to use seven or more services [on their devices] (61%), followed closely by China (56%) and Brazil (53%). In comparison to this, European countries use fewer services on their smartphone; France and Italy (46%), Germany (45%), Spain (43%) and the UK (42%).
Have you switched smartphone makers since you switched from a dumbphone? Would you repeat the experience?
