2009 Wireless Retail Survey Full Report of Findings
InfoTek Research Group
January 1, 2009 151 Pages - SKU: CHGQ2382905
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Market Research Expertise
InfoTek specializes in new product/service development, feature/needs assessment concept testing, pricing, branding, positioning, awareness tracking, customer loyalty, market segmentation, and message testing. Most importantly, we collect the vast majority of this information completely in-house. Our in-house fielding staff has interviewed over 1.4 million businesses and consumers of technology since 1993. Our expertise in this area gives us a significant competitive advantage over our competition.
Products and Services Researched
More than 300 categories of products and services, including cell phones, PDAs, laptops, PCs, printers, scanners, digital cameras, storages devices, hubs and switches, network adapters, network management software, operating systems, telecomm services, online services, technical service and support, and more.
Target Audiences
Enterprise executives, VPs, directors and managers of IT, data communications and telecom, operations, marketing, VARs, retail managers and agents. Organizations of all sizes and home consumers. InfoTek has conducted research among these audiences in more than 30 countries.
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- Section 1 Introduction
- 1.1 Study Background
- 1.1.1 Strategy for InfoTek’s Wireless Retail Survey
- 1.2 Objectives
- 1.3 Scope and Methodology
- 1.3.1 Scope
- 1.3.2 Sample Plan
- 1.3.3 Questionnaire Development
- 1.3.4 Interviews
- 1.3.5 Report layout
- 1.4 Summary of 2009 Findings
- 1.4.1 Sales Associate Profile and Behavior
- 1.4.2 Indirect Wireless Agent Satisfaction with Carriers
- 1.4.3 Value-Added Wireless Applications and Services
- 1.4.4 Handset Capabilities Demand and Sell-Through
- 1.4.5 Competitive Handset Recommendation Factors
- 1.4.6 Accessory Demand and Sell-Through
- Section 2 Sales Associate Profile and Behavior
- 2.1 Introduction and Overview
- 2.2 Sales Associate Profile: What’s changed since 2003?
- 2.2.1 Less Experienced Sales Associates Selling Wireless
- 2.2.2 Tenure at Current Retail Store is Increasing Slightly
- 2.2.3 Associates Working Fewer Hours in Average Week
- 2.2.4 Two-Thirds of Sales Associates Consider Themselves Technology Innovators
- 2.2.5 Which Channel’s Associates are More or Less Familiar with Computer Technology
- 2.2.6 College Education Level of Sales Associates is Increasing
- 2.2.7 Age
- 2.2.8 Gender Make-Up of Sales Associates
- 2.3 Store Traffic and Sales Associate Interaction
- 2.3.1 Which Stores Get the Most Traffic and Who is Getting More Traffic?
- 2.3.2 Quantity of Associate Customer Interaction
- 2.4 General Compensation of Sales Associates
- 2.4.1 Free Phones
- 2.4.2 Sales Associates Earning Sales Commission
- 2.4.3 Total Compensation for Selling Wireless Phones and Services
- 2.5 Key Findings
- Section 3 Indirect Wireless Agent Satisfaction with Carriers
- 3.1 The Importance of Indirect Agents
- 3.1.1 Distribution of Indirect Agent Sample
- 3.2 Carrier “Ease of Selling” Factor Comparison
- 3.2.1 Importance of Competitive Factors
- 3.2.2 National Consumer Electronics Retailers vs. Regional / Local / Independent Agents
- 3.3 Carrier-Performance—How Carriers Stack Up Against Each Other
- 3.3.1 Network Coverage
- 3.3.2 Customer Service Quality
- 3.3.3 The Variety of Available Handsets
- 3.3.4 Ease of the Process of Activating New Wireless Services
- 3.3.5 The quality of the sales support received
- 3.3.6 The quality of technical support received
- 3.3.7 The brand image of the carrier (new)
- 3.3.8 The quality and quantity of training (new)
- 3.3.9 The cost of service plans
- 3.3.10 The variety of calling services
- 3.3.11 The ability to target certain types of customers
- 3.3.12 Compensation
- 3.4 Key Findings
- Section 4 Value-Added Wireless Applications and Services
- 4.1 Introduction and Definitions
- 4.2 Market Penetration of Value-Added Applications / Services Offered
- 4.2.1 Overall Market Penetration of Value-Added Applications
- 4.2.2 Market Penetration by Channel
- 4.3 2007 Results—What Happened with Value-Added Applications / Services?
- 4.3.1 The Pull—Customers Asking about Value-Added
- Applications/Services
- 4.3.2 The Push—Associates Informing Customers About Value-Added Applications / Services
- 4.3.3 The Take—Customers Signing Up for Value-Added Applications and Services
4.4 Which Value Added Services Do Store Associates Use?
- 4.4.1 How Much of an Impact Does Personal Use of Value-Added Services have on Sales?
- 4.4.2 Sufficiency of Sales Associate Knowledge to Sell Value-Added Services
4.5 The Commission Effect
4.6 Key Findings
Section 5 Handset Capabilities Demand and Sell-Through
5.1 Introduction and Definitions
5.2 Market Penetration of Handset Capabilities
- 5.2.1 Overall Market Penetration of Handset Capabilities
- 5.2.2 Market Penetration of Handset Capabilities by Channel
5.3 2007 Results—What Happened with Handset Capabilities?
- 5.3.1 The Pull—Customers Asking About Handset Capabilities
- 5.3.2 The Push—Associates Informing Customers about Handset Capabilities
- 5.3.3 The Take—Customers Buying Handsets with Specific Capabilities
5.4 Importance of Capabilities in Making Recommendation as to Which Handset to Purchase
- 5.4.1 Importance of Capabilities - 1st and 2nd Tier Capabilities
5.5 Key Findings
Section 6 Competitive Handset Recommendation Factors
6.1 Introduction and Overview
6.2 Major Handset Recommendation Factors
- 6.2.1 Key Findings
Section 7 Accessory Demand and Sell-Through
7.1 Introduction and Definitions
7.2 Market Penetration of Accessories
7.3 2007 Results—What Happened with Accessories?
- 7.3.1 The Pull - Customers Asking About Accessories
- 7.3.2 The Push—Associates Informing Customers about Accessories
- 7.3.3 The Take—Customers Buying Accessories
7.4 The Commission Paid for Selling Accessories
- 7.4.1 Accessories for Which Associates Earn Sales Commission (2007 vs. 2009)
7.5 Headset Sales
7.6 Key Findings
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Retail Sales Associate Interview Distribution By Store Type
Figure 2: Retail Sales Associate Interview Distribution By Retail Location
Figure 3: Estimated Number of Retail Stores Reported by Each Carrier and National Agents
Figure 4: Ease of Doing Business Index Scores
Figure 5: Percent of Customers Asking About Value-Added Services
Figure 6: Percent of Customers Whom Associates Informed About Value-Added Applications / Services
Figure 8: Influence of Major Handset Recommendation Factors
Figure 9: Customers Asking about Accessories Overall
Figure 10: Wireless Retail Associate Snapshot
Figure 11: Experience Selling Wireless Phones and Services
Figure 12: Experience Selling Wireless By Channel (2+ Years)
Figure 13: Tenure with Current Retailer (2+ Years with Retailer)
Figure 14: Hours per Week (40+ hours)
Figure 15: Shift in Associated Being Technology Innovators
Figure 16: Percent Consider Themselves Innovators by Channel
Figure 17: Familiarity with Computer Electronics
Figure 18: Who is Becoming More Formally Educated?
Figure 19: Sales Associate Gender 2007 vs. 2009
Figure 20: Distribution of Retail Traffic
Figure 21: Quantity of Associate Customer Interaction
Figure 22: Whose Sales Associates Still Get a Free Phone?
Figure 23: Associates Earning Commission
Figure 24: Which National Consumer Electronics Retailers Pay Commission for Wireless Sales?
Figure 25: Types of Sales for Which Associates Earn Commission
Figure 26: Mean Annual Compensation by Channel
Figure 27: Carrier Representation Among Participating Agents
Figure 28: Wholesale Carrier Competitive Factors in 2009
Figure 29: Impact of Wholesale Carrier Competitive Factors
Figure 30: What’s Important to the Different Agent Channels?
Figure 31: Verizon Still King of Perceived Network Coverage by Agents
Figure 32: Verizon meets T-Mobile’s at the Customer Service Summit
Figure 33: T-Mobile jumps to the Head of the Pack in terms of the Best Variety of Devices
Figure 34: AT&T is Making Activation Easier
Figure 35: Verizon Sales Support Ahead of the Pack
Figure 36: AT&T and Verizon Take the Lead in Quality of Tech Support
Figure 37: Verizon Brand Image Loses Ground
Figure 38: A Tight Race At the Top
Figure 39: T-Mobile Still is the Best Deal in Town
Figure 40: Cingular Again Makes Great Strides with Calling Services
Figure 41: Carrier Target Marketing Efforts Seen as Similar
Figure 42: Carrier Compensation of Agent Associates
Figure 43: Ease of Doing Business Index Scores
Figure 44: Carrier’s Agent Assistance Grade
Figure 45: Reported Rankings & Changes in Ease of Doing Business
Figure 46: Value-Added Applications / Services Definitions
Figure 47: Overall Market Penetration
Figure 48: Overall Market Penetration - by Channel
Figure 49: Percent of Customers Asking About Value-Added Applications / Services
Figure 50: Percent of Customers Asking About Value-Added Services (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 51: Percent of Customers Asking About Value-Added Services - by Channel
Figure 52: Percent of Customers Whom Associates Informed About Value-Added Applications / Services
Figure 53: Percent of Customers Whom Associates Informed About Value-Added Applications / Services (2007
vs. 2009)
Figure 54: Percent of Customers Whom Associates Informed About Value-Added Applications / Services — by
Channel
Figure 55: Percent of Customers Signing Up for Value-Added Applications / Services
Figure 56: Percent of Customers Signing Up for Value-Added Applications / Services (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 57: Percent of Customers Signing Up for Value-Added Applications / Services — by Channel
Figure 58: Which Value Added Applications / Services Do Store Associates Use?
Figure 59: Which Value Added Applications / Services Do Store Associates Use?
Figure 60: The Perceived Impact of Associates’ Personal Use of Services on Sales (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 61: The Perceived Impact of Associates’ Personal Use of Services on Sales (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 62: Percentage of Associates Rating Their Knowledge of Value-Added Services “Extremely Sufficient”
To Effectively Sell
Figure 63: Sufficiency of Value-Added Application Knowledge by Channel
Figure 64: Value-Added Services for Which Sales Associates Earn Commission (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 65: Value-Added Services for Which Sales Associates Earn Commission (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 69: Customers Asking About Handset Capabilities
Figure 74: Percent of Associates Informing Customers About Capabilities by Channel
Figure 83: Handset Capabilities For Which Associates Earn Commission
Figure 87: Handset Recommendation Factors
Figure 88: Influence of Major Handset Recommendation Factors
Figure 89: Influence of Major Handset Recommendation Factors - By Channel
Figure 90: 19 Accessories Included in 2007 Research
Figure 91: Market Penetration of Accessories Overall (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 92: Market Penetration of Accessories - By Channel
Figure 93: Customers Asking about Accessories Overall
Figure 94: Customers Asking about Accessories Overall (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 95: Customers Asking about Accessories by Channel
Figure 96: Percent of Customers Whom Sales Associates Inform About Accessories
Figure 97: Percent of Customers Whom Sales Associates Inform About Accessories (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 98: Percent of Customers Whom Sales Associates Inform About Accessories -- by Channel (2007 vs.
2009) 142
Figure 99: Customers Buying Accessories Overall
Figure 100: Customers Buying Accessories Overall (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 101: Customers Buying Accessories -- by Channel)
Figure 102: Accessories for Which Associates Earn Sales Commission Overall
Figure 103: Accessories for Which Associates Earn Sales Commission Overall (2007 vs. 2009)
Figure 104: Accessories for Which Associates Earn Sales Commission by Channel
Figure 105: Headsets as a Percentage of Accessory Unit Sales by Channel
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