EUROPEAN MOBILE USERS WHO OWN MULTIPLE SIM CARDS SPEND MORE MONEY, NIELSEN FINDS
In a Weakened Economy, Additional SIM Cards Can Benefit Both Operators And Consumers
London, UK -- July 30, 2008 - With the perspective of a weakening economy, mobile operators are now expecting full-year revenue to be at the low end of their expectation; however, the mobile giants, who are about to announce their Q2 results on July 31, are being creative by bringing more SIM cards to market to fight economic weakness and growing competition in Europe.
European mobile consumers own and regularly use 1.4 SIM cards on average, according to a new report out today from The Nielsen Company.
Italy leads Europe with 46% of mobile users using more than 1 active SIM card. Spain and Germany follow with 31% and 28% owning several SIM cards, and France (22%) and the UK (19%) trail at the lower end. Most of these SIM cards are linked to the ownership of several mobile handsets.
The findings come from the quarterly Customer Insights study from Nielsen Mobile, a service of the Nielsen Company, and are based on a survey of 42,000 European customers. In the report, Nielsen examines mobile user acquisition, usage and retention in Europe and finds that the saturated mobile market has operators struggling to grow the market and user revenue.
SIM cards store network information and are used to authenticate and identify subscribers. Replacing the SIM card of one account with that of another allow customers to get the cheapest deal, depending on the type of call they are making and the network they are calling. By marketing additional SIM cards to customers, mobile operators bring in more revenue and convert subscribers, thus gaining market share.
“The additional revenue brought to the operators by consumers who own multiple SIMs is significant”, said Jean Littolff, Director, Europe at Nielsen Mobile. “The more SIM cards you own, the more money you spend, and this trend is valid in every country”.
A French consumer who owns 3 SIM cards will spend in total 28% more than a consumer with a single SIM card, and the numbers are even higher in the other countries: +51% in Italy, + 52% in the UK, +79% in Spain and + 89% in Germany.
The typical targets for additional SIM cards are high spenders and heavy data users, but the Nielsen Mobile study suggests that multi-SIM ownership is not limited to a few niche groups. The top reasons for “carrying” multiple SIM cards (and multiple mobile phones), as revealed by the Nielsen study, were to separate business and personal calls, use different phone numbers to call different people and to continue possession of an old SIM card after getting a new phone. Other reasons include traveling in different countries or benefiting from cheaper international calls, receiving a free SIM card or free minutes and getting the advantage of different tariffs or promotions, etc.
“Consumers continue to watch their discretionary spending, and mobile operators have simultaneously increased the availability of SIM cards or even the giveaways of free SIM cards to gain market share. Many are never used, or are only activated for a limited amount of time’, said Littolff. “The new standard may soon be the new “no strings attached” contract SIMs, where the user can benefit from the value of a contract every month, but can leave anytime after 30 days. The money spent during the contract period, even if it is dropped after 30 days, still represents an exceptional return for operators due to the low production and delivery costs of SIM cards.”
According to Nielsen Mobile, the Q1 earnings releases could prove the need for operators to increase their ability to sell more expensive services and advanced phones to their customers. Convincing users to carry multiple SIM cards, which usually goes hand in hand with multiple device ownership, can effectively improve future earnings by increasing voice, messaging and data usage.
Nielsen Mobile’s Consumer Insights study is available today in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US. The reports provide the most comprehensive insights into consumer acquisition, usage and retention cycles in Europe and in the US.
About the Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
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CONTACTS: Melinda Butts
melinda.butts@nielsen.com
0044 (0) 7969640050
Jean Littolff – 0044 789485528
