O2 Tops Mobile Phone Retailer Survey

O2 and Phones 4u rank highest in satisfying customers with their mobile phone retail experience, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 UK Mobile Phone Retailer Study. The study measures customer satisfaction with the seven leading mobile phone retailers in the UK based on exit interviews with buyers and browsers. For the first time, the ranking is based on the combined results of two surveys, one executed in the summer and one in the winter, in order to minimize seasonal fluctuations. The three factors driving customer satisfaction with mobile retailers are staff (39%), offerings and promotions (39%) and the store (22%).

With segment-leading ratings in all three customer satisfaction factors, O2 ranks highest among network-owned retailers, receiving an index score of 802 on a 1,000-point scale.

Phones 4u ranks highest among providers in the independent retailer sector with 791 index points, with particularly high ratings for staff and store. Phones 4u is followed in the segment rankings by The Link (784), which performs very well in offerings and promotions.

Despite a slight overall industry decline in the number of sales staff at mobile phone retail stores in recent years, top-ranked retailers O2 and Phones 4u actually increased their sales staff in 2005. In their respective sectors, both registered the highest average number of assistants in their stores: O2 (2.97) and Phones 4u (3.60).

In the summer, customers gave much more favourable ratings for the time they waited to be served and the time taken to complete a transaction than in the winter. Despite the fact that the average number of assistants in the store was higher in the winter (3.04) than in the summer (2.88), customers waited an average of 2.77 minutes in the summer compared to 3.13 minutes in the winter. Transaction times are also lower in the summer, averaging 9.53 minutes, compared to 11.05 minutes in the winter.

More than one-half (57%) of respondents interviewed said they would be highly likely to visit the store again. Nearly one-third (31%) said the main reason for this was because the staff was friendly and helpful, while 20 percent said it was because the store offered good prices or deals.

Gunda Lapski, director emphasized that the findings showed that high levels of satisfaction play an important role in how likely customers are to recommend the store to others. More than one-half (51%) of customers say they would "definitely" recommend the store to others. The highest recommendations are recorded by the top-ranked retailers, O2 (58%) and Phones 4u (55%).

The 2005 UK Mobile Phone Retailer Study is based on personal interviews with 2,258 consumers, and includes both browsers and buyers at mobile phone stores across the United Kingdom."

Posted to the site on 7th December 2005