Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (NJMR)

Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70

ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

Factors Affecting Buying Decision of Smart Phones – (In Reference to The

College Student of Kathmandu)

Raju Bhai Manandhar

PhD Scholar
Faculty of Management
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal
Email: [email protected]

Received: December 31, 2021; Revised & Accepted: February 15, 2022
Copyright: Manandhar (2022)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0

International License.

ABSTRACT
Now a days, Smart phone becomes the popular choice of all individual for the communication. It
not only works for the communication but also works to check the email, use of internet, shaving
and sharing of important documents, sound recording, taking photos. There are different models
and brand of smartphone. Considering the growing needs and demand of smart phone, the study
was conducted to identify the factors affecting buying decision of smart phones. The study was
conducted among the 170 students of Public Youth Campus of Kathmandu. The data was collected
via Google form due to spread of Covid-19. The descriptive research design had selected for the
study to describe the factors that affect the purchase decision. The study had used some statistical
models like mean, medium, St. deviation, and correlation to analyze the data. The result shows
that product attributes, price and brand was regarded as first, second, and third most important
factors respectively. The correlation analysis shows all the independent variables: price, brand
and product features had positive and significant relationship in consumer buying decision
towards Smart Phones. The study has considered only three explanatory variables i.e., price,
brand and product features in the entire study so future researcher can test the impact of other
independent variables on purchase decision of smart phone consumers.
Keywords: Affecting, Buying, Decision, Factors, Smartphone

1. INTRODUCTION
In today's business environment, communication is one of the most discussed topics. Among the
various channels of communication, the cell phone is increasingly proving to be a dependable and

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 Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (NJMR)
Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

efficient means of getting from one person to another (Uddin, Lopa, & Oheduzzaman, 2014). A
smartphone is a type of mobile phone that runs on a mobile operating system. It has more computer
power, connectivity, and performance than a basic feature phone. The smartphone is one of the
world's fastest-disseminating communication technologies, providing quick connection and access
to information (Chan, 2015). Early smartphones were largely sold to businesses, seeking to
combine the capability of standalone personal digital assistant (PDA) devices with cellular
telephony compatibility, but were hampered by battery life, cumbersome form designs, and the
immaturity of wireless data service. The smartphone business has benefited from improved
hardware and speedier wireless transmission (thanks to standards like LTE). Mobile phones serve
more than just communication. Beyond voice, three major trends have been identified that are
shaping the so-called mobile culture: (1) communication services such as voice, text, and pictures,
(2) wireless Internet services such as browsing, corporate access, and e-mail, and (3) various media
services such as movies, games, and music (Hansen, 2003). Smartphones have provided enormous
benefits to society, including the ability to call and talk right away, send short message service
(SMS), assist business people in scheduling work and meetings, work as a navigation system
(GPS), provide access to the internet, entertainment, download applications, store data, and even
assist in legal matters such as tracking criminals via tracking systems (Ling, Lang, Fong, &
Perinpajothi, 2001). The smartphone has now been widely embraced by the majority of people all
over the world, and it has become a vital part of everyone's daily lives. As more people get linked,
new information and communication technologies continue to infiltrate countries throughout the
world. The modern customer is technologically knowledgeable and researches the technical
specifications and features of mobile phones before purchasing them (Jha & Nanda, 2017).

Mobile phone development is predicated on consumers' potential future demands, thus

organizations that have the greatest guesses about future technology and services will be the
discipline's leaders (Brown, 1991). Smartphones have made people's lives considerably easier and
more comfortable. The primary reason for bringing comfort into a person's daily existence is
through innovation. Although the country's mobile phone market is predicted to increase at a
healthy rate during the forecasted period, it is critical to understand customers and the variables
that influence their purchasing decisions (Frambach & Schillewaert, 2002).

Despite the fact that mobile phones have become an integral aspect of personal communication
around the world in recent years, consumer research has paid little attention to the motivations and
choices that drive mobile phone purchases. The application store on a Smartphone allows users to
download and install third-party programs. People can install a variety of applications in their
Smartphones, including internet surfing, email, navigation, social media, music listening, news
reading, games, finance, health and fitness, taking notes, calendars, weather forecasts, and many
other things. Smartphones are typically equipped with an operating system that allows for the
installation of applications. Apple's iOS, Microsoft's Windows, Google's Android, and Nokia's
Symbian are just a few examples of smartphone operating systems. People use their smartphones
for internet browsing, social networking, emails, online shopping, navigation, and a variety of
other activities (Nagarkoti, 2003). Smartphones today have replaced various other smaller and
important devices in our lives.

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 Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (NJMR)
Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

Consumer propensity to purchase, often known as consumer behavior, is the study of who, where,
when, how, and why people buy things. When analyzing, purchasing, utilizing, or disposing of
goods and services, consumers engage in a decision-making process and physical action known as
consumer behavior (Loudon, 2001). Consumer behavior is the sum of human decision-making
units' decisions about the purchase, consumption, and disposition of goods, services, and activities,
as well as experiences, people, and ideas (Hoyer & Macinnis, 2009). According to Kotler & Keller
(2009), “Consumer behavior is the study of how individuals or groups buy, use and dispose of
goods, services, ideas or experience to satisfy their needs or wants”.

Consumer behavior toward smartphones is becoming more and more of a focus of marketing
research. Consumer behavior in the smartphone business, particularly from adoption motivation
to post-use behavior, has been a prominent subject of marketing study. This study's findings reveal
that branding, product design, product performance, and pricing all have an impact on people's
purchasing decisions. Consumer behavior can be influenced by whether or not a product meets
their needs. In the case of smartphones, technical factors such as product performance, which
includes hardware and software integration, file transfer, display, camera performance, and so on,
play a big role in purchase decisions (Ganlari, Deka, & Dutta, 2016 ).
In the Nepalese context, there are few research done on the factor affecting buying decision of
smartphone so this study will be important to fulfill this gap. The research is directed towards
answering following question
1. What are the factors affecting buying decision of smart phones among consumers?
2. Which is the most influencing factor affecting buying decision of smart phones among
consumers?
3. What is the relationship of price, brand, product features and buying decision?

2. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to identify the factors affecting the buying decision of
smartphones among consumers.

3. MATERIALS & METHODS

The research designed applied in this study was quantitative and descriptive research designs.
Descriptive research is to provide an accurate portrayal or account of characteristics of a particular
individual, situation or group; these studies are a means of discovering new meaning, describing
what exists, determining the frequency with which something occurs and/or categorizing
information (Dulock, RN, & DNS, 1993). The descriptive research design had selected for the
study to describe the factors that affect the purchase decision.
The population of this study was all the young students of Public Youth Campus of Kathmandu,
Nepal. However, considering all the population was impossible, so the convenience sampling
method was used to select the sample for the convenience of the study. Thus, the samples were
collected via Google form. Total 170 response was received from the students which was the final

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 Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (NJMR)
Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

sample of this study. The primary sources of the data was used to determine the willingness to
purchase smartphones among youths of Kathmandu valley. The survey questionnaire asked
respondents to respond in five ways: a short response, a preference of one or three choices, a
ranking of options, a multiple-choice, and a Likert scale alternative. Respondents were asked to
fill out their names as a brief answer to the question, which was optional for the respondents.
Respondents had to select Yes, No or Rarely in some other issues. In the ranking question,
respondents to the survey were expected to rate the options from 1 to 4. Respondents can select
multiple options in the multiple-choice query. The 5-point Likert scale was used to gather the
respondents' views on the study analysis, where point 1 strongly disagrees and 5 is strongly agreed.
The study had used some statistical models like mean, medium, St. deviation, and correlation to
analyze the data.

4. RESULT & DISCUSSION

This section includes the empirical investigation conducted as a field survey in which structured
questionnaire was developed and distributed to the sample selected through convenient sampling.
The questionnaire was distributed to altogether 170 sample respondents via Google form to obtain
their views regarding the various factors influencing the buying decision of smartphones. All the
sample respondents, to whom the questionnaire was distributed, actively participated in the survey
with the response rate of 100 per cent. The responses collected are arranged, coded, tabulated, and
analyzed to facilitate the study's descriptive analysis.

Table 4.1: Gender and Age group of the respondents

Gender Frequency Percentage Cum %
Male 67 39.4% 39.4%
Female 103 60.6% 100%
Total 170 100%
Age Group
Below 20 6 3.5 3.5
20-25 131 77.1 80.6
Above 25 33 19.4 100
Total 170 100
As displayed in table 4.1, out of 170 samples, the majority of 103 respondents were female, and
67 were male. Female comprises a total of 60.6 per cent, whereas male comprises of 39.4 per cent
out of 100 per cent. Besides that, the data presented in table 4.1, shows that altogether, 6
respondents were below 20 years of the age group, 3.5 per cent out of 100 per cent. Similarly, out
of 170 respondents, 131 participated in having their age 20-25, 77.1 per cent of the total
respondents. Moreover, 33 respondents were having their age above 25. This is a total of 19.4 per
cent of the total respondents. With this result, the age group between 20 and 25 has the highest
participation.

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 Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (NJMR)
Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

Table 4.2: Operating system used by the respondents in their smartphone

OS Frequency Percentage Cum %
Apple 21 12.4 12.4
Android 149 87.6 100

Total 170 100

As exhibited in table 4.2, Out of 170 respondents, 149 respondents use Android brand, which has
the highest percentage of 87.6. Similarly, 21 respondents use the Apple brand, which is 12.4 per
cent of the total sample. This result shows that around 87 per cent of smartphone users use Android
Brand in their smartphone, followed by Apple.
Table 4.3: Opinion on buying decision of smartphone among respondents
Questions No. %
Are you price sensitive customer?
Yes 134 78.8
No 36 21.2
Total 170 100
Do you only buy a branded smartphone?
Yes 155 91.2
No 15 8.8
Total 170 100
Does the design influence you to purchase smartphones?
Yes 134 78.8
No 36 21.2
Total 170 100
As displayed in table 4.3, out of the total, 78.8 per cent believe that the smartphone's price
influences the buying decision among students. Only 21.2 per cent of the participants believed that
price doesn't affect the buying decision. Likewise, 91.2 per cent of respondents agree that the brand
influences the students' decision making while purchasing smartphones. However, 8.8 per cent do
not agree that brand influences the buying decision of smartphones. Most of the respondents
answered that design influence them to purchase smartphones with 78.8 per cent. However, 21.2
per cent of the participants does not believe that design influence to purchase smartphones.
Table 4.4: Opinion on priority of most important factor
Feature Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Tota Weighte Weighte Ran
s No % No % No % No % l d value d mean k
31. 25. 12. 29.
Camera 54 44 22 50 170 434 2.55 4
8 9 9 4
25. 40. 25.
Storage 15 8.8 43 68 44 170 419 2.46 2
3 0 9

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 Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (NJMR)
Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

31. 32. 28.

Battery 54 55 49 12 7.1 170 417 2.45 1
8 4 8
27. 18. 16. 37.
RAM 47 31 28 64 170 430 2.52 3
6 2 5 6
17 17 17 17
Total
0 0 0 0
As apparent from Table 4.4, most of the respondents ranked Battery as their first choice with the
mean weight value of 2.45. Similarly, Storage capacity is ranked two with the mean weight value
of 2.46. Further, the RAM is ranked as the third important factor with mean weighted value of
2.52. And finally, the camera is ranked four as the least essential factor among the four alternatives
with the mean value of 2.55 influencing students' buying decisions towards smartphones
Table 4.5: Opinion regarding buying decision of smartphone

Responses Percent
Statements
of Cases
N Percent
I am willing to pay a high price if features are innovative and new. 86 25.00% 49.40%
Only the branded smartphones have more features and quality 43 12.51% 74.70%
I prefer long lasting battery life in smartphones. 116 33.72% 31.80%
The camera is the most important for me. 99 28.77% 41.800%
Total 344 100.00% 217.60%
a Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
As exhibited in table 4.5, 33.72 per cent believe that long-lasting battery life is significant in
smartphones among all the respondents. Similarly, 28.77 per cent agrees that the camera is the
most important in smartphones. Likewise, 25.00 per cent of respondents agree that they are willing
to pay a high price if product features are innovative and unique in smartphones. Only 12.51 per
cent of respondents have stated that only the branded smartphones have more features and quality.
Table 4.6: Survey on price
Ratings Total Weighted Weighted
Statements
SDA DA Neutral A SA response value mean
Increase of price doesn’t
24 61 52 27 6 170 440 2.58
hamper me to purchase it.
The brand I use charges
13 19 35 87 16 170 584 3.43
fair prices.
I am willing to pay high
price for smartphones with 12 10 44 98 6 170 586 3.44
desired specifications.
Grand weighted mean 3.15
As presented in table 4.6, the survey results of the statements related to price. It shows that the
majority of the respondents with the weighted mean score of 3.44 strongly agreed with the

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 Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (NJMR)
Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

statement that ‘I am willing to pay high price for smartphones with desired specification’.
Moreover, the respondents also agreed that ‘The brand I use charge fair prices’ with the mean
weighted value of 3.43. Similarly, they also agreed the statement that ‘Increase of price doesn’t
hamper me to purchase it’ by giving the mean weighted value of 2.58. The grand weighted mean
for the statements related to price is found to be 3.15 which is the second highest weighted mean
among independent variables.
Table 4.7: Survey on brand
Total
Weighte Weighte
Ratings respons
d value d mean
Statements e
Neutra S
SDA DA A
l A
Brand image of
smartphone attracts me to 10 24 74 53 9 170 537 3.15
purchase it.
I will consider the brand
image when buying a
18 52 60 28 12 170 474 2.78
smartphone, regardless
of the higher price.
Branded smartphones have
19 18 21 90 22 170 588 3.45
better features.
Grand weighted mean 3.13
The data presented in table 4.7 reveals that majority of the respondents agreed with the statement
that ‘branded smartphones have better features’ with the weighted mean value of 3.45. Similarly,
another statement, ‘Brand image of smartphone attracts me to purchase it’ which was also agreed
by most of the respondents with the weighted mean value of 3.15. The statement, ‘I will consider
the brand image when buying a smartphone’, regardless of the higher price was also agreed by
most of the respondents with the weighted mean values of 2.78. And the grand weighted mean for
the independent variable, the brand is found to be third highest among other independent variables
3.13.
Table 4.8: Survey on product features
Ratings Total
Weighte Weighte
Statements SD Neutra respon
DA A SA d value d mean
A l se
More features influence me
6 12 36 85 31 170 633 3.72
to purchase a smartphone.
I am willing to pay a high
price for innovative and new 6 31 52 68 13 170 561 3.30
product features.

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Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
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Product features make

smartphones distinctive and 7 32 44 51 36 170 587 3.45
appealing.
Grand weighted mean 3.49
The respondent's tabulated responses in table 4.8 show that the respondents agreed that ‘More
features influence me to purchase a smartphone’ with the weighted mean value of 3.72, ‘Product
features make smartphones distinctive and appealing’ with the weighted mean value of 3.45, ‘I
am willing to pay a high price for innovative and new product features’ with the weighted mean
value of 3.30 respectively. And the grand weighted mean value for the independent variable:
product features is 3.49, which is the highest grand weighted mean than the grand weighted mean
of other independent variables. We can conclude that respondents consider product features as the
most important factor influencing buying decision among the students.
Table 4.9: Survey on buying decision
Ratings Total Weight
Weighte
Statements Respons ed
SDA DA N A SA d value
es mean
I will purchase smartphone of
18 12 41 77 22 170 583 3.42
this brand again.
I will recommend
smartphones of this brand to 0 12 34 95 29 170 651 3.82
my friends.
My smartphone is price
0 13 43 74 40 170 651 3.82
effective.
Grand weighted mean 3.69

Table 4.9 reveals that majority of the respondents agreed with the statement ‘I will recommend
smartphones of this brand to my friends’ and ‘My smartphone is price effective’ with the weighted
mean value of 3.82 Similarly, another statement, ‘I will purchase smartphone of this brand again’
with the weighted mean value of 3.42. And the grand weighted mean value for the dependent
variable buying decision is found to be 3.69.
Table 4.10: Descriptive statistics for the all sample
Variables Mean Median Mode S.D. Variance Minimum Maximum
Price 3.15 3.5 3.33 1.00 1.01 1.00 5.00
Brand 3.13 3.33 3.33 1.06 1.13 1.33 5.00
Product features 3.49 3.66 4.00 1.02 1.05 1.00 5.00
Buying Decision 3.69 4.00 4.00 0.92 0.88 1.66 5.00
Table 4.10 displays the result of descriptive statistics for the whole sample. The mean value,
median value, mode value for the dependent variable buying decision is the highest among other
variables with the mean value of 3.69, mid-value 4.00, mode value 4.00 followed by price, and

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 Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (NJMR)
Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

brand. The maximum value of the respondents' responses in the Likert Scale is found to be 5.00
for the variables: price, brand, product features and buying decision. Similarly, the respondents'
answers in the Likert Scale are 1.66 for dependent variable and brand. Standard Deviation and
variance are highest for the independent variable: the brand with the value of 0.80 in standard
Deviation and 0.64 in variance followed by product features, and price.
Table 4.11: Relationship between variables for all samples
Buying
Price Brand Product Feature Decision
Price Pearson 1
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
Brand Pearson .160** 1
Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

Product Pearson -.131** -.009 1
Feature Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .003 .848
Buying Pearson .055 .128** .114** 1
Decision Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .213 .004 .010
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

The table 4.11 characterizes the correlation analysis of the variables under study which is
conducted for the whole sample. As shown in the table, the correlation for all samples between
buying decision and brand is observed to be positive and significant at 99 percent confidence
level with the correlation coefficient of 0.128. Similarly, the relationship between buying
decision and product features is found to be positive and significant at 99 percent confidence
level with the correlation coefficient of 0.114, which means the product features of smart phones
influence the consumer to buy smart phones in a positive way. The correlation analysis shows
that all the independent variables: price, brand and product features have positive and significant
relationship in consumer buying decision towards Smart Phones.

5. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

According to the results of the ranking question, the battery was the most important component
that influences smartphone purchasing decisions, followed by storage capacity and RAM. The
camera was regarded as the least important aspect that impacts smartphone purchasing decisions.
Similarly, the results of the Likert scale revealed that product attributes were regarded as the most
essential and influential component in smartphone purchase decisions. Price, on the other hand,
was regarded as the second most important consideration when acquiring a smartphone. In a
similar way, the brand was regarded as the third most important influencing element in purchasing

68
 Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (NJMR)
Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

decisions. The correlation analysis shows all the independent variables: price, brand and product
features had positive and significant relationship in consumer buying decision towards Smart
Phones.
The study has considered only three explanatory variables i.e., price, brand and product features
in the entire study so future researcher can test the impact of other independent variables on
purchase decision of smart phone consumers.

Financial support and sponsorship: None

Conflicts of interest: None

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Vol. 5, No.1 , March 2022. Pages: 60-70
ISSN: 2645-8470 (Print), ISSN: 2705-4691 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44616

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