Study: Few Phone Buyers Purchase Accessories

Tag : Accessories
Are peripherals the future of mobile-phone sales?

According to a study released Monday by the NPD Group , U.S. consumer purchases of mobile phone handsets dropped by 20percent from January to April, an indication that retailers mayneed to turn to accessories to increase their revenues. To date,however, consumers aren't buying.
Sixty percent of mobile phones are bought in stores owned bywireless carriers, the research firm found,where sales staffencourage consumers to pick up an extended warranty, car kits,hands-free devices, and other accessories.
But 39 percent of all mobile-phone buyers refuse to purchase anyaccessory for their phones, whether those peripherals be a Bluetooth headset , a music kit, or some other peripheral device. That represents alost opportunity for electronics retailers, NPD said.
According to NPD, just 18 percent of mobile-phone users purchased aBluetooth headset, even though nearly 80 percent of all phones soldinclude Bluetooth technology. Just two percent of U.S. consumershave purchased music kits, even though 60 percent of phones soldcan play music. Barely 3 percent have purchased stereo headsets,NPD said.
Interestingly, however, about half of consumers are willing to buyan accessory from somewhere other than an a phone retailer, NPDfound. That might turn out to be good news for both carrier storesand big-box retailers; on one hand, some customers are willing tobuy bundles of phones, accessories and other supplies. Others,however, are willing to shop around for their peripherals.
Still, the numbers of peripherals sold compared to the phonesthemselves remains limited.
"With saturation increasing and the pace of new phone adoptionslowing, there's still room to increase revenues from the sale ofmobile phone accessories like Bluetooth headsets, memory cards, andcar kits," said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD,in a statement.