Australian Mobile Survey 2021: Mobile Buying and Churn Drivers Stable

Abstract

Venture Insights has been surveying Australian mobile consumers annually since 2018. The latest survey was conducted in March 2021 and included 1,019 respondents. The results show that price and network performance remain the main purchasing drivers for mobile services, with more than 90% of respondents rating them as important or very important. On price, 86% did not expect to spend more each year for their mobile phone services, which is consistent with previous surveys. The persistent importance of price shows that mobile services are seen as a commodity by many customers. A total of 38% of respondents were considering churning their mobile phone service; of these respondents, 40% chose price as the key churn driver. There is consistent focus on Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) driven by price. The survey results suggested that the total market share for MVNOs could increase by 6 percentage points, if all respondents indicating a move to an MVNO actually did so. Only 20% of respondents indicated they were willing to pay more for 5G mobile services or handsets. A majority (55%) of respondents change their mobile phones every 2-3 years; 39% said they would consider purchasing a recycled/refurbished mobile phone at a lower price.