Just curious, do you consider the US to have a nationalistic preference for US products?

Depends heavily on the market segment and type of product we're talking about. A lot of Americans really love their Japanese cars and electronics, for example, or even swear by European firearms (and luxury goods, of course). On the other hand, there's definitely a preference for "Made in the USA" products in things like tools and trucks.

On the software side it's kind of hard to say for certain because so much of the software world started in the US before being replicated elsewhere so is it nationalistic preference or just first-mover preference? I'm not sure. But I am pretty sure it's not even close to the same level as in China.

I have no reason for this other than the way you phrased it inspiring it but I wonder if there's a class divide on this...

Depends who you talk to, but generally no.

It is generally pretty easy to figure out if you are talking to someone from the US because they so readily and zealously advertise US-based products (Netflix, Amazon/AWS, Apple, etc).

But not because they're US products (not consciously at least).

For an outside observer it is not clear that this is the case.

I find that hard to believe. US consumers overwhelmingly favour Apple compared to the rest of the world.

LG, Lenovo, Samsung, Spotify, Sony, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, H&M, L’Oreal, Zara, Gucci, Nescafé, Nestle, IKEA are also big brands here. Then there’s all the crap we buy from China. All the clothes we’re getting from places like Honduras, Burma, India, Vietnam.

Much of the rest of the world also favors US software from Microsoft and Google.

Apple is just one company. Some American switching from a Mac is just as likely to buy a Microsoft or Dell product, or even a Lenovo, running American software. Or if they switch from an iPhone to a Samsung, Sony, LG, or OnePlus phone, it is likely running American software.

Do we have a nationalistic preference for buying our own products? I think the answer is some of us and sometimes. If it were pervasive or strongly held, companies like Toyota or Honda or Sony would never have made inroads here in the first place. I think on average, when we buy an American product, it’s because we like the American product more on its own merits. That’s why Japanese car companies can so thoroughly dominate the market for sedans while Ford and GM can so thoroughly dominate the market for trucks.

The majority of the world is more price sensitive. North Americans are willing and able to pay premium prices.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/283334/average-smartphon...

I don't find it remotely hard to believe, and I don't think this is a good example. US consumers have more disposable income and are more aggressively advertised to than the rest of the world. Apple historically has done an amazing job of advertising their products as the top of the line, premium option. It's certainly the most expensive (usually). If Apple was based in Korea along with Samsung, I doubt they'd suffer much if any loss to their market share in America.

Are you American? I suspect either you're not, or we live in very different parts of the country. I do believe that most Americans would say that they prefer American made over otherwise, but I don't believe more than a small subset actually stick to that when making purchasing decisions unless American made vs Non-American made is the only difference between two choices, which is rare.

Edit: It's late and I'm tired so perhaps I'm missing something, but looking at this [1], I'm not really seeing any data to back up the statement that America "overwhelmingly favour[s] Apple compared to the rest of the world." UK, Canada, Norway, Ireland, Denmark are all at similar levels of iOS adoption compared to the US, and Japan is far higher. At a glance, I'd guess that iOS adoption is pretty correlated with a country's economy. The least popular places for iOS are Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Ukraine, South Africa.

[1] https://deviceatlas.com/blog/android-v-ios-market-share

You’re not wrong exactly but it’s not to the same extent. Especially for software. The example is TikTok’s success. And a European or north or south American app wouldn’t get the same scrutiny we’re seeing here.

> US consumers overwhelmingly favour Apple compared to the rest of the world

Similar story with Xbox vs the far more globally popular PlayStation video game consoles.

There is a difference between a strong preference for US products and a nationalistic preference for US products. A strong preference for US products may come from US companies just understanding the market better. But I don't think that outside of some consumers with their cars and motorcycles, there is a strong desire to "Buy American" and support a product specifically because it is American.

...what? Almost all luxury goods that are prized are foreign-touched in some way. Cars, jewelry, exotics...