Surprisingly most current US Windows Phone users plan to buy another

ValueWalk reports on a study by analyst company Raymond James of  US 600 smartphone owners conducted between the 18th and 19th December which had some interesting data for Windows Phone watchers.

The study found 2.3% of those asked owned a Windows Phone (so 14/600), vs 51.8% iPhones and 44.7% Android handsets. These numbers are somewhat off Comscore and NPD numbers which show higher Windows Phone and Android ownership and lower iOS ownership.

The number shows Windows Phone ownership is at a 2 year high, if we ignore an odd bump in June this year.

They also asked the smartphone owners what they expected to buy as their next handset.

According to their numbers 2.4% of respondents said their next handset would be a Windows Phone. It is not clear if this is churn or loyalty from existing buyers, but data from iOS and Android owners suggest it is the latter.

The Raymond James team reported that this is the first time the intent to remain on the same smartphone platform is above 90% for both Android and iOS devices.

Only 3.6% of Android users intend to switch to an iPhone in the next 12 months, which is just slightly higher than the 3.2% of iPhone users who intend to switch to Android.

While it is good news that Windows Phone users are loyal to the platform, the fact that Android has improved to the degree that its users are also loyal is a problem for Windows Phone, as Android converts has always been a more likely source of Windows Phone growth than iPhone owners.

Based on these numbers we may see a slow Windows Phone market share rise, but should not expect any dramatic upward movement. This is of course all things being equal, but we hope changes in Windows and Windows Phone in the coming year will make a more compelling case to both iOS and Android users, the vast majority who of course remain Windows PC users.