So, on my travels this December, I’ve been checking out retail estate in the UK, specifically pertaining to the mobile carriers (see here and here). I got a bit of time to check out a couple of independents in the mobile phone retail space though – namely Carphone Warehouse, and Phones4U. For those of you that don’t live in the UK, these are two of the major chains, and as such are responsible for selling a good proportion of the devices/contracts that are purchased outside of the carrier channels.
Carphone Warehouse
CW adopted a different strategy to some of the other retailers I visited recently, as they have gone back to the strategy of bundling in other things you might want which are not mobile-related, along with your contract. Case in point: Sony PS3 and Nintendo DS Lite are available free with certain combos of device and contract. Interestingly, this strategy (which was all the rage a couple of years ago) is one they are pursuing on TV advertisements also – along with a kind of deconstructed Apple-esque touchscreen style (you’d have to see it, for it to make sense – my description isn’t that great!).
Phones4U
Phones4U were more predictable – they were pushing a couple of deals when I passed by, and they fell in to the same category as many of the carrier shops – half-decent handset plus lower monthly line rental – but I suspect, a long contract period. At any rate, nothing mind-blowing, and not hugely surprising for an independent to steer clear of handsets that are exclusive to networks, or have a whacking great price tag attached.
In summary then, it should be interesting to see which mobile carrier/independent retailers win the Xmas battle to get the most connections – I’m not sure we’ll get that data as a comparator between them, but in January the stats will start rolling in from each carrier about the good business they did. Any thoughts on who will be triumphant?