According to a new report from MarketStar, 42 percent of 300 mobile users said they "just want a phone" and are not sold on additional features. MarketStar VP Stan Bassett claimed that: "To convince a typical mobile phone user to upgrade to a combination device requires a coordinated effort between the manufacturers and retailers, from the design to the sales pitch." In fact, only 15 percent of mobile phone users surveyed were familiar with any combination device or platform of OS. Also, while few sales associates have ever mention smartphones to the majority of those surveyed, those that did never discussed the differences between the phones' operating systems. None of this is really surprising, but it does indicate that in-store sales techniques are going to require far more education for both the salespeople and the consumers if newer services and devices are going to gain traction in the market.
For more on the MarketStar study:
- see this write-up from Cellular-News