J.D. Power: Heavy Cell Phone Texters More Likely to Switch

The most active of traditional mobile phone customers, in particular those who text a lot, are more likely to switch devices, according to a report from J.D.Power & Associates. The report also found that Nokia and Samsung rated highest in traditional mobile phone customer satisfaction.

Nearly half (49%) of those who text at least 30 times within a two-day period said they “definitely will” or “probably will” switch traditional mobile phones or switch to a smartphone within the next 12 months, according to the “J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction Study – Volume 2.” In contrast, just 32% of traditional mobile phone customers who text less than 10 times in a two-day period said likewise.

• Overall satisfaction with traditional mobile phone devices is lower among customers who text 30 or more times in a two-day period than among those who text fewer than 10 times (725 vs. 740, respectively, on a 1,000-point scale).

• Ease of operation is a key factor impacting traditional mobile device satisfaction, as pressing/activity keys, navigation and ease of texting/messaging are critical operational activities among customers who frequently use their devices.

• The primary reason for purchasing a traditional mobile phone device is cost/price (57%), followed by feature set (15%) and style/design (14%).

• Overall customer satisfaction with traditional mobile phone devices is 735.

• Nokia and Samsung both scored 743 out of 1,000 possible customer satisfaction index points to lead all industry participants.

“It’s very interesting to see the correlation between switching intent and how frequently customers use their traditional mobile phone device,” Kirk Parsons, J.D. Power senior director of telecommunications services, was quoted in a press releases.

“It’s very critical for OEM brands to provide devices that are easy to use, especially when texting, given the typically small physical size of traditional mobile phones, compared with much larger smartphone devices where touch screens dominate the communication experience.”