Telecom Carrier 7-Day Pre-Order Sales Results
Z Flip4 Captivates Women Aged 20-30
Z Fold4 Chosen by Men Aged 30-40
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The three major telecom companies will begin pre-activation of Samsung Electronics' new foldable phone series, the 'Galaxy Z Fold4 and Flip4,' on the 23rd. The official product launch is on the 26th. Both models are evaluated to have continued the popularity of their predecessors, which recorded the highest reservation volume for flagship devices during the pre-order period from the 16th to the 22nd. The publicly announced subsidies remain at the previously disclosed levels for all three telecom companies, reaching a maximum cap of 650,000 KRW (based on KT).
Two-thirds Choose Z Flip4... Active Participation from the MZ Generation
According to the pre-order results from the three telecom companies, the more popular model among the two was the Z Flip4. According to KT, 66% of customers chose the Z Flip4. The Z Fold4 received 34% of the selections, an increase of about 5 percentage points compared to its predecessor. LG Uplus also showed a 6:4 ratio between the Z Flip4 and Z Fold4 models.
By age group, purchases were high among the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z). On SKT's official online mall, T Direct Shop, customers in their 20s and 30s accounted for about 60% of all pre-order subscribers. By device, 37% of all Z Flip4 reservations were made by women in their 20s and 30s. For the Z Fold4, male customers in their 30s and 40s accounted for 52%.
By color, KT customers showed high preference for the Z Flip4 in the order of 'Pink Gold (29%)', 'Blue (27%)', 'Purple (23%)', and 'Graphite (21%)' during the reservation process. For the Z Fold4, customer responses were favorable in the order of 'Beige (37%)', 'Gray Green (32%)', and 'Black (31%)'. Notably, both models were popular mainly for their new colors. LG Uplus customers, based on the 256GB model, showed high interest in the Z Flip4 in the order of 'Pink Gold (26%)', 'Purple (25%)', 'Blue (22%)', 'Graphite (17%)', and 'White (10%)'. The Z Fold4 model was tallied in the order of 'Beige (38%)', 'Gray Green (33%)', and 'Phantom Black (29%)'.
In terms of capacity, KT saw a high selection of 256GB for both the Z Flip4 and Z Fold4. The Z Flip4 showed 256GB (85%) and 512GB (15%), while the Z Fold4 showed 256GB (66%) and 512GB (34%). The Fold had more than twice the selection rate for the 512GB model compared to the Flip. On the other hand, at SKT T Direct Shop, the Z Fold4's 512GB model accounted for 61%, while the Z Flip4's 256GB model accounted for 71%, showing a contrasting trend.
Limited edition releases also received positive responses. SKT announced that 1,000 units of the Santa Maria Novella Iris Edition, a collaboration with Santa Maria Novella, sold out during the pre-order period. Among the reservation customers, 53% were women in their 20s and 30s. The 'Wonderful Flip White Edition,' which offers additional benefits to those born after January 1, 1993, had a 41% reservation rate among customers in their 20s. KT also reported that the 'Woo Young-woo Edition,' including goods from the drama 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo,' and the 'Y Edition,' a collaboration with the 'Nice Weather' brand, have attracted interest and inquiries. LG Uplus's pre-order promotion, which offers camping and golf packages and phone decoration sets, attracted about 20,000 participants.
Public Subsidies Up to 650,000 KRW... Even Cheaper with Partner Card Discounts
Public subsidies have also been confirmed. KT provides support ranging from 156,000 to 650,000 KRW depending on the plan, SKT offers 280,000 to 520,000 KRW, and LG Uplus confirmed support from 175,000 to 500,000 KRW. The retail price of the Z Fold4 is 1,998,700 KRW for the 256GB model and 2,119,700 KRW for the 512GB model. The Z Flip4 is priced at 1,353,000 KRW for the 256GB model and 1,474,000 KRW for the 512GB model.
Partner card discounts are also diverse. SKT offers up to 630,000 KRW in discounts, including a maximum cashback of 150,000 KRW, when purchasing this foldable phone series via installment or lump sum payment with partner cards. If customers choose 'T Safe Compensation,' which provides discounts by trading in their used phones, they can receive up to 540,000 KRW in used device compensation plus an additional 100,000 KRW Samsung special compensation based on the 'Galaxy Note 20 Ultra,' totaling up to 640,000 KRW in discounts. When combined with partner card discounts, customers can get up to 1,270,000 KRW off their purchase.
According to KT, when purchasing the Z Fold or Flip4 using the card-linked discount called 'Triple Benefit,' customers can simultaneously receive interest-free installments, cashback discounts, and plan discounts. This applies to some cards from Hyundai Card, Woori Card, and BC Card. For example, with the Hyundai 2.0+ Card, customers can save about 85,000 KRW in installment fees for the Galaxy Z Flip4, get a 70,000 KRW cashback discount, and receive up to 960,000 KRW in monthly communication fee discounts of 40,000 KRW for 24 months. This is based on spending over 1 million KRW in the previous month and no inactivity for the past six months. Additionally, further discounts are possible through public subsidies or optional contract discounts.
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