“When Apple unveiled its plan to let customers pay for iPhones in installments, analysts predicted the more expensive wireless carriers — AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon — would feel the biggest impact,” Adam Levy writes for The Motley Fool. “Apple’s installment plan gives customers an unlocked iPhone that can be used on any carrier. With quarterly results in from every major wireless company in the States, it’s pretty clear that analysts were correct in their assumptions.”
“T-Mobile reported it had ‘more iPhones in the third quarter than at any point in our history,'” Levy writes. “It thinks the iPhone Upgrade Program helped. Sprint, meanwhile, posted its first postpaid phone net add positive quarter in over two years… It’s evident that phone subscribers are choosing T-Mobile and Sprint more and more. T-Mobile added 843,000 postpaid phones subscribers last quarter, and Sprint added 237,000. Verizon still added 430,000 postpaid phone subscribers — a 6% year-over-year decline — but AT&T lost 459,000 subscribers after adding 349,000 subscribers during the year-ago period”
“If customers are willing to go out of their way to buy their phone from Apple and buy their phone plan from a carrier, wireless carriers need to give customers more incentive to continue buying their phones from them instead of the manufacturer,” Levy writes. “Samsung — the largest phone manufacturer in the world — is expected to follow Apple into installment plans, according to wireless analyst Chetan Sharma, so the time to act is now. Making it easier to buy a phone from a carrier may come in several forms. For example, more flexible upgrade options, lower pricing, or simplifying customer bills could all entice customers to choose a carrier’s installment plan over Apple’s.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Finally, with the high level of smartphone saturation in the U.S.A., the power is really swinging from the carrier to the customer. Take advantage and make them work for your business!