Assessment of Consumer Attitudes Towards Chinese Branded Smartphones in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

This study examined consumer attitudes towards Chinese branded smartphones in Nairobi, Kenya. The study adopted the Tricomponent attitude model to specifically examine the awareness, liking or disliking and purchase behavior of Chinese branded smartphones. The study used descriptive research design. A sample of 384 consumers from shopping malls in Nairobi were selected through multistage sampling method. Primary data were collected through filling of standardized questionnaire by the sampled respondents. Analysis of data was done by version 23 of Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Frequency tables, mean scores, standard deviations and regression analyses were computed where appropriate. The study results showed that the awareness of Chinese smartphone brands by Kenyan respondents was above average (60.19%) while Country of Origin awareness was at 48.83%. This implied that the brand was a key factor in determining consumer smartphone purchase behavior in Kenyan market while Country of Origin was not. Further, the study indicated that Kenyans do “like” smartphone quality and design of the Chinese brands. However, they were less satisfied with the price, brand advertisement and positioning strategy offered by distributors of the Chinese smartphone brands. The study results also revealed that continuous improvement of the above attributes will further attract and stimulate purchase behavior of the Chinese branded smartphones. Hence, it was concluded that there was potential in Chinese smartphone market if appropriate product design, quality control and price strategy are implemented. The sampled respondents for this study were limited within the City of Nairobi. Future research in this area could be conducted with a larger sample from more cities with the aim of getting divergent views of Kenyans and to enhance requisite knowledge.