| MARKET
FORCE INFORMATION AND TELEPHIA LAUNCH COMPREHENSIVE
MEASUREMENT OF THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE AT WIRELESS RETAILERS
First
Results Reveal Opportunities for National Mobile Retailers
to
Engage
Customers in Data Services
SAN
FRANCISCO AND BOULDER, Colo. (February 21, 2007)--Market
Force Information, Inc., a leading global customer experience
information company, has teamed up with Telephia, the
world's largest provider of syndicated research for
the wireless industry, to launch Retail Insights
, a joint syndicated information product providing
a new kind of in-store market intelligence for each
major constituent in the wireless industry: carriers,
handset manufacturers and retailers. Retail Insights
addresses the growing need in the wireless marketplace
for strategic in-store information, providing competitive
insight into key performance indicators, such as competitive
strategy, point-of-sale execution and product promotion.
Based
on shoppers anonymously visiting wireless stores, Retail
Insights is a market-level analysis that competitively
benchmarks essential areas of the in-store retail experience.
Shoppers visit direct, indirect and national retail
locations in twelve markets every quarter and document
strategic aspects of in-store performance such as needs
assessment, up-selling efforts, live demonstrations,
display/promotional strategies and brand messaging.
"Retail
Insights focuses on the relationship between corporate
strategy and store-level execution. It is a valuable
tool for benchmarking best practices across retail locations,"
said Sid Gorham, president and CEO, Telephia.
Inaugural
results from the Q4 2006 pilot report found that a significant
proportion of retailers do not ask customers about their
interest in data features or accessories. Data services
and add-on accessories are two of the largest in-store
drivers of wireless revenue. Conducted in three key
markets, the findings show about 20 percent of sales
representatives at national retailers did not ask shoppers
about data service needs and other added features (see
Table 1).
"The
wireless industry changes constantly with new wireless
data applications coming onto the market. Consumers
have a hard time keeping up with what's out there, and
aren't necessarily aware of those new offerings. Our
research shows that there's a huge opportunity for wireless
salespeople to create up-sell simply by driving awareness
of both existing and emerging data services," said
Dr. Cheryl Flink, vice president of syndicated solutions
at Market Force.
Table
1: Sales Representative Assessment: Data Services and
Accessories
Data
Services |
%
of Sales Representatives That Asked About Data
Feature Needs |
Text
Messaging |
58%
|
Take/Send
Pictures |
49%
|
Email
|
43%
|
Data
Features on Device |
29%
|
Remote
Internet Access |
25%
|
Instant
Messaging |
25%
|
Laptop/Blackberry/PDA
|
19%
|
Mobile
TV/Video |
17%
|
Video
Messaging |
16%
|
iPod/MP3
|
16%
|
Ringtones
|
14%
|
Download/Play
Games |
13%
|
Maps/Directions
|
12%
|
None
|
20%
|
Source:
Retail Insights, (Q4, 2006)
About
Market Force Information
Market
Force Information is a leading global customer experience
information company for major retailers, restaurants
and consumer packaged goods companies. Its products
provide actionable in-store information with reliable
leading indicators that drive competitive, marketing
and investment strategies. Market Force Information
is unique in its ability to collect and combine in-store
operational and experiential analysis, giving clients
a holistic view of the in-store customer experience.
For more information on Market Force Information's products
or subsidiaries, please visit: www.marketforceinfo.com
.
About
Telephia
Telephia
is the world's largest provider of syndicated consumer
research to the telecom and mobile media markets. Telephia
is your connection to the digital consumer. Since 1998,
executives at service providers, device manufacturers,
content providers, and retailers have relied on Telephia
data to make confident competitive strategy, marketing
and resource allocation decisions. Telephia uses its
unique measurement tools and large-scale consumer panels
to completely understand the digital consumer's behavior,
attitudes and experience.
Contacts:
Rich
Miller
GroundFloor
Media
303-539-6933
rmiller@groundfloormedia.com
Maria
Bumatay
Telephia
415-637-4904
mbumatay@telephia.com
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