Brand equity and smartphone choice among Ghanaian university students

Youth are central to Africa’s rapidly expanding smartphone market, yet quantitative evidence on how brand equity shapes their purchase decisions remains limited. This study examines smartphone choice among Ghanaian university students using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with 200 respondents who completed eight choice tasks varying brand, price, storage capacity, battery life, and camera quality. Conditional logit and mixed logit models were estimated to recover preference parameters and derive willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures from price trade-offs. Results show that brand and camera quality are the most influential drivers of choice. Premium brands such as Samsung and iPhone command positive WTP premiums, while value brands including Tecno, Infinix, and Itel exhibit negative brand equity effects relative to the base category. Students demonstrate substantial willingness to pay for higher camera quality, underscoring the importance of content creation and social signalling in this segment. Mixed logit estimates further reveal significant preference heterogeneity, indicating the coexistence of brand-oriented and more price-sensitive consumer segments. By providing one of the first choice-based estimates of smartphone brand equity in Ghana, this study advances understanding of consumer decision-making in African youth markets and offers actionable insights for brand positioning, pricing strategy, and digital inclusion policy in emerging economies. • Discrete choice experiment on smartphone brand equity among Ghanaian students. • Conditional and mixed logit models identify brand and camera as key drivers. • Students show high willingness to pay for premium brands and camera quality. • Global brands (Samsung, iPhone) hold positive equity; Tecno and Itel negative. • Results guide marketing and digital inclusion strategies in emerging markets.