Mobile phone shops fall down on service

Poor customer service and unsuitable sales promotions are putting consumers of buying mobile phones, according to a study.

More than a third of “serious” shoppers failed to buy because of a lack of suitable deals, bad service both in-store and on telephone sales lines, and poor website layout and navigability, according to YouGov’s Mobile Buying Experience tracking service

The vast majority (91%) said they were particularly put off by not being able to handle the phone before purchase, less than half of them (44%) were able to do so.

Caroline Gaskin, director of technology and telecoms consulting at YouGov, says the mobile phone industry is missing out on “significant” sales volume.

“There’s a genuine opportunity to gain market share for the retailer which responds to consumer criticism and polishes its performance,” she says.

YouGov interviewed 9650 consumers about their mobile browsing and buying experience. Of those 8009 said they serious about buying phones.