European Gen Z and Millennials own on average 9 technological devices, underscoring just how prevalent technology is in their lives. And it’s not just that these gens are surrounded by technology, they also spend nearly all their time on devices: YPulse’s research shows that young Europeans spend six hours on average daily on their phones alone.
Young Europeans’ love of tech brands runs deep, but which brands are winning them over most? In our recent WE Tech / Device Usage Report, we asked young Europeans to tell us which tech brands they consider their favorite as an open end question.* Here’s what they had to say:
Their Favorite Tech Brands
Among 13-39-year-olds in Western Europe
- Apple
- Samsung
- Sony
- Xiaomi
- Microsoft
- LG
- HP
- Huawei
- Amazon
Apple is young Europeans’ favorite tech brand, followed by Samsung
Let’s start at the top: young Europeans simply can’t have enough Apple. Apple is the favorite tech brand of Gen Z and Millennials in the region, and it is also the favorite tech brand among 13-39-year-olds in North America. According to YPulse’s brand tracker, Apple is the third brand with the highest affinity among Gen Z and Millennials in Western Europe. “Quality” is the word that these consumers say best describes Apple, which is also reflected in the words of one of our respondents, a 16-year-old male British consumer: “Apple does everything right with me and I’ve used their products and items for all my life and not once have they let me down.”
Young consumers are sensitive to what their friends are buying, and want the same tech as their peers. And when it comes to the iPhone, young consumers fear being the odd one without one, or in their language, the one who has to “‘explain to my friends why our group chat is green now.’” This generation’s affinity for iPhones is the driving force behind Apple’s success which then opens them up to the entire ecosystem of Apple devices like AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches. Apple appeals to young Europeans because of the premium quality their products offer, and when YPulse asked young consumers in this region which luxury brands they most want to own, they were more likely to mention Apple than Ferrari.
Behind Apple is Samsung, its direct competitor. Samsung is the second-largest producer of smartphones in the world, and though it’s clearly not as popular as Apple they still win brand love among these generations. Samsung dominates the Android market, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of operating systems (OS) in the world. Consumers like Samsung products for their quality, and also appreciate the fact that Samsung offers a wide range of tech devices, from home electronics to home appliances. A 30-year-old female Spanish respondent says it in her own words: “I like their products, I have never had a problem with a Samsung (telephone, TV, and refrigerator).”
Two tech brands from China are among young Europeans’ favorite tech brands Xiaomi and Huawei rank respectively fourth and ninth on the list of favorite tech brands among young Europeans. While it might come as a surprise for North American readers to see two Chinese brands featuring among young Europeans’ favorites alongside some classic tech brands including Sony, Google, and Microsoft, this is not a new trend: these two brands already featured among young Europeans’ favorite tech brands last year.
China-based tech brand Xiaomi is the world’s third-largest phone manufacturer, and while its revenues recently fell globally, sales actually grew stronger in Western Europe. Huawei is another heavy-hitter in the tech devices industry, and is currently the sixth-largest smartphone producer. Both brands have massively increased their presence in Western Europe, and Xiaomi even overtook Samsung as the top smartphone seller in Europe. Young Europeans name these brands as their favorite tech brands, largely due to their lower price point, especially compared to the premium Apple and Samsung. Another Chinese tech brand that will likely grow in affinity among young consumers in Western Europe is Oppo. While the Chinese brand is not currently one of the top tech brands among European Gen Z and Millennials (it ranks 22nd on the list), the brand is actively trying to reach young consumers in the region—consider that Oppo signed a five-year sponsorship contract with the UEFA Champions League, the biggest football competition in the region.
Amazon makes it the top 10 favorite tech brands among young Europeans this year
Amazon now features among the top 10 favorite tech brands for Gen Z and Millennials in Western Europe. This is quite an accomplishment considering that when we asked young Europeans what their favorite tech brands were last year, Amazon ranked 23rd. A few factors explain why young Europeans love Amazon more than ever, propelling the brand to the top ten of their favorite tech brands.
First, it’s good to keep in mind that while in North America Amazon is competing with mass merch brands like Walmart or Target, there are no such comparable stores in Western Europe. True, some European supermarkets like Carrefour or Metro are big in size, but they don’t have the same appeal among young consumers the way mass merch stores have among North American consumers. Amazon is the only online mass merch store in Western Europe of this size, and it’s no coincidence Amazon is also the store young consumers in the region turn to the most: YPulse’s research found that almost three in five young Europeans shop on Amazon (58%), more than any other stores—the next one of the list being H&M, where not even half of young consumers are reporting shopping there.
The success of Amazon in Western Europe is also linked to the growth of Amazon Prime Video, the streaming branch of Amazon. YPulse told you how Amazon Prime Video is becoming a serious competitor in the entertainment industry and some of its shows like The Rings of Power—which Amazon spent more than $ 1 billion on the production—are among young Europeans’ top shows. Now, one in six British consumers are Amazon Prime users in the U.K., and YPulse’s WE Media Consumption Report data shows that 43% of young consumers in the region are tuning into Amazon Prime Video every week. The appeal that Amazon has among consumers in Western Europe means it will likely continue to feature among the top favorite tech brands in the region.
*This was an open-end response question to allow us to capture the full range of tech brands that Millennials and Gen Z like most—without our preconceived ideas shaping their responses. As with any qualitative question, the responses include those that are top of mind and those that are most popular. The lists are ordered according to the number of responses received, and alphabetically when ties occurred.
