comScore, has been keeping score on wireless handsets, plans and e-commerce, with their e-commerce dashboard. Flagship phones generated revenue while discounts, free phones and other offers fueled volume sales, noted the report. Substantial numbers of phones sold on carriers websites were free phones with 75% of AT&T's phones sold were gratis.
Revenue was generated by the big-guns, the "flagship" phones. Three of the four flagship phones (iPhone, T- Mobile HTC G1, and BlackBerry Storm) ranked as the top revenue
driver on their respective sites, while being ranked just inside the
top ten models in terms of unit volume.
Meanwhile, Sprint's flagship
phone, the Samsung Instinct, ranked lower than the others - #7 in terms
of revenue and #15 by unit sales.
|
Flagship Phone Unit Sales (New, November 2008 - January 2009 Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Source: comScore Wireless E-Commerce |
|||
|
Wireless Carrier Site |
Phone |
Ranking by Sales Revenue |
Ranking by Unit Sales |
|
AT&T |
Apple iPhone |
1 |
9 |
|
Sprint |
Samsung Instinct |
7 |
15 |
|
T-Mobile |
HTC G1 |
1 |
8 |
|
Verizon |
Blackberry Storm |
1 |
8 |
"Given what we saw with the other three carriers, it was surprising
that the Samsung Instinct didn't rank higher in terms of sales or unit
revenue on the Sprint site, particularly given its strong performance
overall for Sprint," said
vice president. "This finding underscores some of the key differences
between the online and offline sales channels, thereby giving carriers
a better understanding of handset market dynamics and the actionable
insights needed to modify their product offerings, messaging, and user
experience depending on the channel."
Discounted Phones Continue to Drive Volume Sales on Carrier Web Sites
Discounts and special offers continue to drive handset unit volume
online, with the phone sales leader for AT&T actually being a
refurbished version of the LG Shine. In fact, LG had the largest volume
drivers on three of the four carrier sites, with the LG VX8350 on
Verizon and LG Rumor on Sprint also ranking as the most popular models.
The Motorola RIZR Z3 was responsible for the highest unit volume on the
T-Mobile site. In each case, the vast majority of these phone models
were provided to customers at no charge.
|
Top Handset by Unit Sales (Postpaid November 2008 - January 2009 Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Source: comScore Wireless E-Commerce |
||
|
Wireless Carrier Site |
Top Selling Handset |
Percent Sold That Were Free |
|
AT&T |
LG Shine (Refurb) |
95% |
|
Sprint |
LG Rumor |
86% |
|
T-Mobile |
Motorola RIZR Z3 |
100% |
|
Verizon |
LG VX8350 |
99% |
"Generally speaking, online is the place to go for free phones,"
added Jurutka. "The LG Rumor, in particular, was a huge volume driver
on Sprint's site, with more than three times the unit volume of the
next closest phone and 86 percent of the units being sold for free."
A substantial percentage of phones purchased across all carrier
sites were free, an incentive that is typically offered to entice
consumers to sign long-term phone and data plan agreements. A
significant 75-percent of phones at the AT&T site were provided
free, followed by T-Mobile (61 percent), Sprint (54 percent) and
Verizon (48 percent).
|
Top Units Sold that Were Free November 2008 - January 2009 Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Source: comScore Wireless E-Commerce |
|
|
Wireless Carrier Site |
Percent of Total Units Sold for Free |
|
AT&T |
75% |
|
Sprint |
54% |
|
T-Mobile |
61% |
|
Verizon |
48% |
"Many wireless consumers are having a tough time choosing between
the budget-conscious handsets and the more expensive flagship phones at
the top of many people's wish lists," said
Director of Consumer Internet Sales & Marketing, Verizon Wireless.
"Given the fast-changing wireless phone landscape and the differences
between online and offline product mix, comScore's Wireless E-commerce
Dashboard provides us with a view of the online wireless phone sales
landscape that is critical to understanding how our strategy and
tactics perform compared to those of our competitors."