TELECOMS CUSTOMER INSIGHTS

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1 TELECOMS CUSTOMER INSIGHTS Consumer Survey 2014/15 Track and respond to changes in user behavior Analysis Extract This paper provides a short sample of the findings of Ovum s Consumer Survey 2014/15, based on a globally representative sample of 15,000 consumer respondents across 15 core countries. Find out more about the full results and our powerful insight tools at:

2 The following extract provides a small sample of the findings of our 2014/15 Consumer Survey. To find out more about the full results and our powerful insight tools please visit or contact us for a demonstration at enquiries@ovum.com. Angel Dobardziev Director, Watch our webinar discussing the key survey findings here: Rapid change in customer behavior is here to stay. The pace of change in the converging communications, media, and technology markets remains relentless. Users are constantly making decisions both as consumers and employees on a wide array of new technologies and services. The implications of these disruptive changes can be profound for service providers and technology vendors. Ovum s program enables service providers and technology vendors to detect and address changes in user behavior, requirements, and perception. This insight is crucial in identifying opportunities, validating product strategies, refining marketing messages, and understanding adoption by segment. Address changes in user behavior, requirements, and perception Telecoms service providers What issues are driving churn and loyalty? Who in my customer base is most at risk of churn? What digital activities are essential to my customers? What do users look for in an commerce/payment service? How are enterprise ICT DMs selecting their cloud and UC vendors? Which new/advanced services and features are best favoured by uses? Where is technology and comms use and spend shifting most dramatically? What devices brands do users plan to buy in the next 12 months? Which screens do users prefer for different applications? Which age and gender segments are likely to resist new products and services? What issues are driving churn and loyalty? Which geographies deserve particular attention? How are users spending patterns shifting? Which SPs have service quality and churn issues and why? Telecoms and IT technology vendors A unique approach to understanding customer changes Ovum s 2014 Consumer Survey polled a large, globally representative sample of 15,000 respondents across 15 countries. The survey focuses on six core strategic topics carefully designed to target key points of disruption in consumers engagement with ICT services and suppliers: Disruptive communications: the impact of new and OTT communications applications. Broadband connectivity: the adoption of faster broadband and the use of data allowances. Devices: consumers use of smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and wearables. Digital media: consumers use of and spend on music, games, and infotainment content. Digital/mobile commerce: consumers device preferences for key digital commerce transactions. TV and video: pay-tv and OTT video in the consumer digital lifestyle.

3 - Consumer Survey 2014 Consumers are cautious of using datahungry applications on the mobile network Mobile devices in general, and smartphones in particular, are rapidly transforming consumers digital lifestyles, with , web surfing, music, gaming, and video all becoming part of a regular digital diet for most mobile users. But how much of that activity actually happens on the move, using the mobile network, rather than at home via Wi-Fi? Ovum s Consumer Survey 2014 found that quite a lot of users digital activity does occur while they are out and about. However, most consumers consciously limit their mobile network use to bandwidth-light applications. As Figure 1 indicates, approximately two-thirds of the consumers we surveyed browse the Web and check their while on the move daily. More than half use social networking apps daily while away from home. Figure 1 also shows that consumers are substantially more reticent when it comes to the frequent use of data-hungry music, gaming, and video apps. Indeed, a substantial minority (30 40% of total consumers) say they never access music, gaming, or more substantial video content via the mobile network. This needs to be seen in the context of another finding of the survey: only a third (33%) of respondents currently have a mobile data allowance of 250MB or more. Of that number, only two-thirds (or 22% of the total) have a mobile data allowance of 1GB or more, a level of bandwidth that can begin to support the use of data-hungry applications. Consumers still have relatively small mobile data packages to play with, and as a result are mindful of the ways they use their bandwidth. Figure 1: Use of applications on the mobile network Source: Consumer Survey Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 3

4 - Consumer Survey 2014 Spend on digital content does add up Free or rather ad-funded services remain consumers preferred way to access digital content. As Figure 2 indicates, 37% of consumers globally choose free music downloads, and the numbers increase for other services, with fully 76% opting for free news services. Figure 2 also shows that only between 12% and 31% of consumers globally say they spend more than the equivalent of 3/ 2 per month on any individual content category. There is, of course, significant variation by region, country, and particularly age, which users of Ovum s online data tool can explore. Despite consumers preference not to pay for mobile content, the combined spend across the different content categories is substantial, especially in mature markets. However, different communities of consumers are clustering around particular applications and spending a disproportionate amount of money on them. Examples of this trend include younger gamers and various clusters of music users. Figure 2: Current (monthly) spend on digital content Source: Consumer Survey Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 4

5 - Consumer Survey 2014 Banks and card networks are the most trusted providers of mobile payments The mobile payments market remains embryonic and highly fragmented. This is especially true in mature markets, where a range of providers have announced or launched services with (so far) mixed degrees of success. Figure 3 outlines how, at a global level, consumers perceive various aspiring payment providers when asked to rate the degree to which they trust the providers on a scale from 1 to 5, where 5 is the most trusted. Banks, perhaps unsurprisingly, lead the way, with an average rating of 3.9. They are followed by credit card companies (3.5) and online payment providers such as PayPal (3.4). After that are a group of players toward which consumers are, on the whole, neutral. These include online retailers, Internet companies, handset vendors, and mobile operators, with average trust ratings of 2.8 to 3.0. Interestingly, social networks have the lowest score, with an average rating of 2.3. These results must be seen in the context of another of the survey s findings: almost two-thirds of consumers consider a guarantee of the security of a payment service essential. Security and risk management remain key concerns for consumers in relation to mobile payments, and banks and credit card companies are seen as the strongest in the field in this respect. Figure 3: Mobile payment provider perception Source: Consumer Survey Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 5

6 - Consumer Survey 2014 The smartphone market is far from mature The Consumer Survey 2014 found that smartphones remain by far users top priority. As Figure 4 shows, more than half the respondents (51%) plan to buy a smartphone or upgrade their existing smartphone in the next 12 months. Substantially fewer consumers intend to buy or upgrade laptops, tablets, or TVs in the next 12 months (approximately 27% for each). The majority of respondents (approximately 60% for each) either have no plans to buy one of these devices or don t know if or when they will do so. An even larger majority (between 80% and 90% of respondents) remain unsure if or when they will buy other types of device. These devices include some of those for which the industry has particularly high hopes, such as games consoles and wearables (the survey was carried out before the launch of Apple Watch). These results indicate that it is still too early to talk of smartphone market maturity, especially in emerging markets. Other findings from the devices section of the survey show that, on the whole, consumers remain keen to own the best smartphone they can afford. The survey also indicates that the introduction of the new wave of smart HD+ TVs has had a substantial impact on consumers demand for TVs, putting this device category on a par with laptops and tablets in terms of importance. Figure 4: Plans to upgrade or buy devices Source: Consumer Survey Ovum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 6

7 Ovum s program The full findings of Ovum s Consumer Survey 2014/15 are available both in Excel format and via easy-to-use online data dashboards that enable you to filter results, isolate segments of interest, and turn results into insight with powerful charting functionality. The tool provides a robust and cost-effective way for telecoms decision-makers to discover, understand, and act on changing consumer attitudes across consumer markets. Why choose Ovum s? Benefit from expert led insight The program benefits from Ovum s unique position as a leading telecoms, media, and entertainment research provider with extensive survey data expertise. Our depth of expert market knowledge is channeled in every step of the design, execution, and delivery. Gain a complete view of the customer Each topic covered by the program is addressed by a carefully designed set of questions. These questions examine buyers actions and perceptions in the four areas of the complete customer : Service adoption and use: User adoption and usage dynamics. Buying dynamics: Purchase behavior, workflow, and frequency. Provider perception: Provider sentiment and drivers of churn/adoption. Future intentions: Likely future adoption and spending intentions. Our unique approach to addressing each topic Design Ovum s telecoms, media, and entertainment domain expertise ensures selected topics are pertinent and commercially relevant. Strong analytical methods and tools deliver robust and representative results. Execution In-market expertise enables us to adapt for regional and cultural differences. We have expertise in detecting and managing data integrity issues. Delivery Close collaboration between our domain, data, and visualization experts ensures dashboards are quick to use and provide meaningful insight. All our data is optimized for granularity and comparability. A flexible blend of research and customized insight Ovum s program enables you to combine and customize deliverables to match your business s requirements. A range of flexible options allow you to select the most appropriate Customer package for your needs. You can choose to purchase survey analysis tools or combine them with detailed Ovum analysis of the geography, topic, or segment addressed. Ovum can also deliver custom workshops that combine survey data with our local market expertise. Find out how Ovum can help you Contact us now to discover how you can leverage our exclusive collection of telecoms customer information to provide actionable advice for your business. Book a demo: enquiries@ovum.com Tel: +44 (0)