Flagship Phones Are Strong Drivers of Online Dollar Sales Revenue on Carrier Sites

Apple iPhone, HTC G1, and BlackBerry Storm Each Ranks #1 on Respective Carrier Sites, while Samsung Instinct Ranks #7

RESTON, Va., March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from its monthly wireless e-commerce dashboard, which tracks consumer shopping and purchasing behavior, including handsets and mobile data plans, at all of the major wireless carrier sites.

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The dashboard highlighted that in terms of overall dollar sales on the carriers’ Web sites, the flagship phones being sold on the sites were significant revenue generators. Three of the four flagship phones (Apple iPhone, HTC G1, and BlackBerry Storm) ranked as the top revenue driver on their respective sites, despite 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, Postpaid Lines Only)
    November 2008 - January 2009
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore Wireless E-Commerce Report

    Wireless        Phone                  Ranking by     Ranking by
     Carrier Site                           Sales          Unit Sales
                                            Revenue
    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 Brian Jurutka, comScore 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 Only, New and Refurbished Phones)
    November 2008 - January 2009
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore Wireless E-Commerce Report

    Wireless Carrier      Top Selling Handset       Percent Sold
     Site                                            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 (Postpaid Only, New and Refurbished Phones)
    November 2008 - January 2009
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore Wireless E-Commerce Report

    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 Andy Young, 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.”

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.