Herding and the iPhone Wave
The majority of people that we know who have ‘smartphones’ have an iPhone. In fact, I’ve had friends who get made fun of for having a Google smartphone. What started this trend of Americans buying only iPhones to the point where Apple is a monopoly in possession of 62% of the smartphone industry? According to this article, only 28% of new iPhone users claimed that they bought the phone because they truly believed it was the ‘best’ phone. This shows how Apple used herding to their advantage. The majority of Apple customers bought iPhones because they saw so many other people around them make the choice to buy an iPhone. “Well, if this many people are making the switch to an iPhone, they must be making the best decision possible.” Once this trend caught fire, we have seen nothing but iPhones since.
The article also goes into detail about how much better Apple’s competitors’ smartphone products are. Google, Samsung, and Android all make smartphones that are cheaper and arguably better. Yet we still see everyone buying and staying loyal to their iPhones. This is a clear example of herding, as Americans demonstrate their inability to decide on their own and trust the decisions of earlier customers over their own.
