Product Relative Advantage and Brand Loyalty for Smartphones in South-South, Nigeria

ABSTRACT:

Product relative advantage is the extent to which an innovation is evaluated by end users as being superior to previous ones based on improvement in; screen sizes, battery life, operating system, internet facilities, multimedia functionalities, and other peripherals. The objective of this research is to examine product relative advantage and customer loyalty for smartphone brand in South-South, Nigeria. Outstanding issues considered include; the economic profiting from innovation, the status aspect of innovation, effects of incentive, perceived reliability, and social influences. Exploratory research design was adopted, with in-dept. interview, and focus group techniques used in collecting data from 214 respondents identified as smartphone adopters of the 2022 top ranking global smartphone brands in Nigeria, data collected was analyzed using Pearson’s Correlations Technique. The findings uncovered strong connections between how advantageous customers perceive their phones to be and their willingness to remain loyal to that brand. Two factors stood out above the rest: whether the phone is dependable and whether it delivers solid financial value. These insights shed light on shopping patterns in markets like Nigeria that are still growing, while offering actionable strategies for phone manufacturers trying to win over customers in this challenging business environment.

Keywords: Relative advantage, customer loyalty, Diffusion of innovation, Smartphones, and South-South Nigeria.