TORONTO – While customer satisfaction with the wireless purchase experience is higher at carrier-branded stores and specialty electronics retailers, one-fourth of consumers choose to shop at big box stores. Among these shoppers, more are likely to purchase an unlocked phone, which is a risk for carriers as these customers are more likely to switch carriers when a better price or data plan offer arises, according to a new J.D. Power report.
The 2016 Canadian Wireless Purchase Experience Study examined wireless carriers’ performance across sales-related activities in-store, over the phone and online. Satisfaction is measured in six factors: store representative; online purchase; phone purchase; facility; offerings and promotions; and cost of service. Overall wireless purchase experience satisfaction is 761 (on a 1,000-point scale), up 9 points from 2015.
“The purchase of an unlocked device puts more control in the hands of the customer,” said J.D. Power director Adrian Chung, in the report’s news release. “While the incidence of purchased unlocked phones remains below that of locked phones, the revenue dollars flowing to different retailers can be significant for smartphones in particular, as customers choose to upgrade devices on their own schedule. To help retain customers and drive return visits, the in-store retail experience needs to demonstrate added value through both service and the range of product offerings.”
Satisfaction in the store representative factor is relatively high at specialty electronic retailers (796) and carrier-branded stores (784), but much lower at big box stores (737). The 59-point difference between the highest and lowest performances is attributable to performance gaps in key performance indicators (KPIs) related to the in-store experience, most notably the percentage of times a customer is greeted, notified of possible extra charges, or offered an explanation or demonstration of device operations.
SaskTel ranked highest in purchase experience satisfaction with a score of 798 and improved in most factors year-over-year. Videotron ranked second with 796, followed by Koodo Mobile with 788.
The 2016 Canadian Wireless Purchase Experience Study is based on responses from 6,269 wireless customers. The study was fielded in August-September 2015 (Wave 1) and March 2016 (Wave 2).
Other key findings include:
– Customer satisfaction with the purchase experience is higher at specialty electronics retailers (784) than at carrier-branded stores (774) or big box stores (739);
– Satisfaction in the store facility factor is 44 points lower at big box stores (765) than at smaller specialty electronics retailers (809) and 38 points lower than at carrier-branded stores (803);
– Big box retailers lag behind small specialty stores in value measures, performing 13 points lower in cost of service satisfaction (686 vs. 699, respectively) and 26 points lower in offerings and promotions satisfaction (735 vs. 761);
– In terms of the attractiveness of phones, tablets, and equipment to choose from, big box stores receive ratings that are considerably lower than those for smaller specialty retailers and carrier-branded stores (7.5 vs. 7.8 and 7.8, respectively, on a 10-point scale).
