Pre-paid mobile phones gain satisfaction edge for first time

New data from the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Report on Mobile Phone Service Providers shows pre-paid mobile phones have overtaken their post-paid counterparts in customer satisfaction, gaining a higher rating for the first time.

The change in the market has come over the past year, with satisfaction for pre-paid mobile phones increasing to 76.8% in March, up 3.7% points from a year ago in April 2019. Over the same period satisfaction with post-paid mobile phones declined 2% points to 75.6%.

The increasing satisfaction with pre-paid mobile phones goes hand in hand with more Australians choosing this type of phone: 33% of Australians now use pre-paid mobiles, up from 30.3% in 2017.

Pre-paid mobile phones are a big part of the business plan of third-party providers such as ALDImobile, TPG and Boost, which fill the top three spots for the latest monthly Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction awards. ALDImobile leads the other providers, with a customer satisfaction rating of 90%.A majority of Australians still use post-paid mobile phones, at 56.8%, but this is down 0.7% points from 57.5% in 2017.

Trends in Mobile Phone Service Provider Satisfaction – 12 monthly moving averages 

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, April 2015 – March 2020, Average 12 monthly sample, n=12,227. Base: Australians 14+ main users of a mobile phone.

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the COVID-19 induced recession may accelerate the trends the company has identified in Australia’s mobile phone market:

“We highlighted the trend of Australians turning to pre-paid mobile phones a year ago and this trend has continued. Now 33% use this type of mobile plan and, importantly, satisfaction with pre-paid mobile phones has overtaken the more widely used post-paid for the first time.
“Pre-paid mobile phones offer consumers greater control over their spending. The onset of COVID-19 has plunged Australia into its first recession for nearly 30 years and this economic contraction will force many to cut costs and closely watch their spending – including on mobile phone plans.
“The high customer satisfaction with third-party mobile phone providers such as ALDImobile, TPG and Boost, which rely primarily on a pre-paid model, puts these providers in a prime position  in a financially constrained environment.” 

The Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards highlight the winners but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Roy Morgan tracks customer satisfaction, engagement, loyalty, advocacy and NPS across a wide range of industries and brands. This data can be analysed by month for your brand and importantly your competitive set.

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