Market Force Information and Telephia Launch Comprehensive Measurement of the Retail Experience at Wireless Retailers
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 that 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
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% |
| Ring Tones |
14% |
| Download/Play Games |
13% |
| Maps/Directions |
12% |
| None |
20% |
Source: Retail Insights, (Q4, 2006)
About Market Force
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.