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Consumers View Mobile Service as a Priority, While Looking to Save with a Family or Set-Price Plan and by Disconnecting Their Landline
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Dec 16, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --This Holiday Season One-Third of Respondents Use Mobile Phones to Shop Today Sprint (NYSE:S) released the findings of the Sprint Survey on Mobile Value, which evaluated how U.S. consumers are using their mobile phones and making financial decisions in today's challenging economic times.
This year 72 percent of respondents decreased their overall household spending, with 22 percent spending the same and only six percent reporting an increase in spending. While watching their finances closely, 83 percent of respondents still choose to own a mobile phone, and more than half (56 percent) say they are "inseparable" from their mobile phone throughout the day.
Some key findings from the survey include how consumers are:
*Saving by disconnecting their landline phone service and by switching to family and set-price mobile plans. *Willing to switch mobile carriers for the right amount of savings. *Using their mobile phones to get the best deals while holiday shopping.
Disconnecting Landlines
The Sprint Survey on Mobile Value showed that nearly one-third (32 percent) of respondents are likely to eliminate their landline service and rely solely on a mobile phone in order to save money. Ei
ghteen percent of respondents already do not have landline phone service at their home.More than one third of mobile phone owners (36 percent) say a mobile phone is the only phone they will ever need. When asked why they would give up their landline phone, three-quarters of respondents (76 percent) said they would disconnect in order to save money.
Switching for Savings
The Sprint Survey on Mobile Value found that more than half of respondents (54 percent) would switch their mobile phone carrier if they saved $300 or less a year. Another 30 percent would switch for savings between $400 and $600, and still another 26 percent would switch for savings between $600 and $1,000.
Holiday Shopping
This holiday season one-third of mobile phone owners (33 percent) report using their mobile phone to get more "bang for their buck" when shopping. The top ways they save money with their phone are to:
*Call a friend (72 percent)
*Take a picture of price tags/features of different products (35 percent)
*Call other retailers for comparison pricing (26 percent)
*Check prices via the mobile Internet (22 percent)
*Look up other retailers in the area to see where else to visit (12 percent)
*Call the store they are in to request a discounted price (11 percent)
*Use a mobile coupon (6 percent)
*Use a mobile shopping application like Slifter (1 percent)
One-third of all respondents (31 percent) were finished with holiday shopping more than two weeks in advance of December 25 with an additional 31 percent halfway finished. Twenty-one percent had just started shopping, and 17 percent will start a few days in advance of December 25.
Additional Trending
The Sprint Survey on Mobile Value also found these interesting trends among respondents:
*Sixty-eight percent believe their mobile phone is a time saver.
*Forty-three percent make more than half of their calls from their mobile phone.
*Fifty-seven percent have used their mobile phone in an emergency.
*More than half (52 percent) use their mobile phone for pleasure; three percent use it strictly for business; 45 percent use their mobile phone for both.
About the Sprint Survey on Mobile Value
The Sprint Survey on Mobile Value is based on an online survey among a nationwide sample of U.S. adults. Of the 473 participants, 29 percent were from the Midwest, 27 percent from the South, 23 percent from the Northeast and 21 percent from the West. Of the respondents, 56 percent were female and 44 percent were male. The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 4.51 percent.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving nearly 51 million customers at the end of the third quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit
www.sprint.com.
SOURCE: Sprint
Sprint Aaron Radelet, 703-433-8246 aaron.radelet@sprint.com
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