Android, iPhone Users' Preferences Differ

Android users have the distinction of favoring reading news, owning fish and eating pork, while iPhone users tend to prefer chicken and read about entertainment, according to new data released today by Coupons.com Inc. As the mobile operating system debate continues, the online coupon provider found marked differences between the two sets of users based on coupons they chose from its Grocery iQ shopping list application between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2010.

The app gives users the ability to create, organize and manage shopping lists, according to the company. Users can print coupons they are interested in to redeem in stores or load them onto their store loyalty cards to receive discounts at the register. Eight categories were measured by the company in the six-month timeframe.

Women's body wash was the most widely chosen coupon by iPhone users and eight times more popular than the same coupon offered to Android users in the body wash category. Topping the list for Android users was a coupon for men's body wash. In the dinner meats category, iPhone users preferred chicken and printed or saved the main chicken coupon six times more than Android users, who preferred pork ribs.

In the household cleaner/supplies category, the top coupon among iPhone users was for multi-surface cleaner, while Android users chose toilet bowl cleaner. In other findings, iPhone users also indicated a preference for fish food, choosing that coupon 26.2 times more than Android users, who favored a bird food coupon. Baby products coupons were overwhelmingly chosen by iPhone users, who printed or loaded them to loyalty cards from their devices 41.7 times more than from Android handsets, according to the results in the personal care category. In the Android group, pain relief coupons were chosen 2.1 times more than from iPhones.

But when it came to taking advantage of discounts, both groups are increasingly using their mobile devices to realize savings, Coupons.com said. Between January and June 2010, the number of coupons accessed from the company's mobile applications increased 232%.

"Couponing has become a universally relevant practice and the advent of digital, on-the-go tools like Grocery iQ bring savings directly to consumers' fingertips," said Steven Boal, CEO of Coupons.com Inc., in a statement. "In this day and age, there's no reason why smartphone users shouldn't be saving big with coupons, whether they're bird-loving Android devotees or iPhone-owning fish enthusiasts."