Comparison is a psychological phenomenon inherent in human beings since times immemorial. We compared kings, kingdoms, dynasties, sports teams and what not. Inadvertently we always compared multiple products through our senses to arrive at a purchase decision.
So why suddenly consumers are become ultra-aware and comparison shopping creating the buzz? The history dates back to 1990’s as more people gained access to internet and new technologies for comparison evolved with a single click.
Few days back while going through the commentaries on Cricinfo, i saw an Ad referring to compare two mobile phones of mega brands that recently went through patent wars. Yes by now you guessed it right. It’s Samsung vs. Apple. The comparison was between their flagship models Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Vs. IPhone 6. There was nothing unusual in it but the fact that the promotional event of comparison running on the official website of Samsung raises the eyebrows and speaks aloud the importance of comparison shopping.
The intriguing fact is the methodology of comparison rather than the technology of comparison. Is specification comparison the right methodology for comparison?
Do all 13 MP cameras give same picture quality? Do all 2000 mAh batteries last the same? What it means is, specification is a primary parameter in comparison shopping; what matters; is the reviews of people who used the product. What are they speaking about the design, battery, camera etc. of the two giant’s flagship models?
So i extracted the reviews from various review websites, E-commerce portals and social media and conducted parametric analysis. The parameters taken were the most popular ones- battery, camera, screen and design. The results present an interesting picture.
Specification comparison of Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and IPhone 6
The review comparison and specification comparison gives varying opinion about same phone. IPhone 6 has less mAh battery and half the megapixels in comparison to Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge but the percentages of positive reviews in battery is still more in case of IPhone 6 and quite close in case of camera.
What could be the reason for it? The reason lies in the fact that different features are correlated to each other. Battery mAh is not the sole criterion for the quality of battery. How much battery a processor consumes while using various applications is the key factor. In fact processor optimisation determines battery draining. On similar note megapixels is not the only factor in picture quality. Though IPhone has 8 MP camera still it’s one of the best for photography which is evident from 92.6 % of positive reviews. If I start writing about all the feature comparison it would seem like a PHD thesis.The entire comparison is available here.
The simple comparison showcases a trend that has evolved in comparison shopping. Consumers are moving ahead from simple price and specification comparison and they want the opinion of people who are using the product. The concept of word of mouth is there to remain forever though expressed in the form of endless reviews and countless social media discussions. Who wins the game of thrones is the customers call and brands have to accept it.
I believe that data is the core of decision making be it consumers or brands and text data is the new emerging field. The volume of data is not matching the quality of analytics in this field and we are trying our best to breach the gap. To read more on how review analytics impacts the consumer shopping click here.
Krishna Chandra Dey
Share it
