Bango, the mobile content billing provider has released the results of a new study which shows that mobile content sales generated through off-portal WAP sites (mobile websites) deliver a huge reduction in after-sale customer care costs. Compared to the traditional Premium SMS off-portal content model, where refunds can be between 10-20% of sales, off-portal WAP sites result in refunds for fewer than 1% of transactions, on average.
During the month of May, Bango reported just 142 refunds per 100,000 transactions; customer queries were closer to 70 per 100,000 transactions. So compelling is the data for off-portal WAP that network operators in Europe are showing a strong preference for this model and in the UK, WAP billing through the cross-operator "Payforit" scheme is being mandated.
"This data confirms that the mobile web model is great for browsing and buying content because the point of payment and download are tightly coupled in one seamless WAP flow, leading to fewer errors and low refund levels," said Bango CEO Ray Anderson. "Presenting a payment experience already familiar to users from the PC web and operator mobile portals, WAP is completely transparent and provides consumers with full disclosure of costs and conditions of purchase before they are billed any money."
The headline growth in mobile content revenue has been strong, especially off-portal sales where content providers market and sell direct to mobile consumers and typically bill them through operator-enabled SMS messages.
"We are working closely with content providers and operators in the US to advocate WAP as a much better service model for off-portal mobile content," added Anderson."
Posted to the site on 20th June 2007
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/24464.php