Verizon took the lion’s share of smartphone sales in the United States, due in part to the growth of Windows Phone, according to new numbers from Kantar Worldpanel Comtech.
Of the carriers, Verizon grabbed 36.3 percent of smartphones sold, an annual increase of 1.8 percent. Sprint Nextel accounted for 13.1 percent of smartphones sold, an increase of 1.4 percent. AT&T, in second place, remains stable at 26.3 percent, while T-Mobile declined to 11.3 percent.
Kantar Worldpanel ComTech analyst Mary-Ann Parlato said that Verizon and Sprint’s slight increase is thanks to the growth of two key players.
“For Verizon, Windows’ share rose from 0.2% in the three months ending April 2012 to 6.8 percent by the period ending April 2013,” Paralto said. “At Sprint, they continued to reap share increases thanks to their iOS offering- iOS sales share on Sprint grew from 33.4 percent to 38.4 percent over the last year.”
Katnar found that iOS’ percentage of sales in the first quarter of 2013 was up 2.3 percent annually, while Windows Phone saw an increase of 1.8 percentage points. Android, meanwhile, was up 1.4 percentage points.
Overall, Android ended the quarter with 51.7 percent of the total smartphone market, while iOS took a solid 41.4 percent, followed by Windows at 5.6 percent.
Kantar says Windows has begun to capture consumers from across the competitor set. Of those who purchased a Windows device in the last year, 42 percent came from a feature phone device, 25 percent from another Windows device and 23 percent from Android.
While iOS is similarly effective at capturing Android users and their own users, only 31 percent came from a feature phone device, showcasing Windows strength in attracting feature phone users.
“But it’s not just about capturing the market that is yet to upgrade,” Paralto said. “Windows is also seeing success in the younger group. When looking at those who changed device, between 2011 and 2012 Windows was more successful at capturing older consumers aged 50-64. But when looking at those changing now and in the last year, we’re seeing Windows now gaining share among those aged 25-34.”
Looking at specific sales of smartphone devices, for the 3 month ending April 2013, Nokia’s Lumia devices were the key models driving success for the Windows OS.
