• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 27, 2005

Wal-Mart and Radio Shack Sell More Than Half of Wireless Handsets

 A recent Telephia release reports Wal-Mart and RadioShack posted strong market share for wireless retail. Among recent wireless purchasers who bought their phone within the last 6 months at a major U.S. retailer, such as big box and consumer electronics stores, 32 percent bought their handset at Wal-Mart as compared to 15 percent two years ago in Q3 2003, more than doubling in share.

Twenty-eight percent bought their phone at RadioShack, as the top two major retailers comprised 60 percent of the total market share, according to Telephia's U.S. Device Report from Q3 2005. Twelve percent of recent mobile device buyers made a purchase at Best Buy, while Target and Circuit City rounded out the top five, claiming eight and seven percent, respectively.

Kanishka Agarwal, Vice President of New Products, Telephia, notes "With the holiday shopping season… in full gear, consumer electronics, such as cell phones and other mobile devices, are predicted to be hot sellers…”

Overall, service provider retail stores still attract the highest proportion (47 percent) of mobile phone buyers who made a device purchase in the last six months. Both major retailers and service provider websites posted the second highest share, at 11 percent each.

Telephia data shows that major big box and consumer electronic retailers generate a high rate of pre-paid cell phone purchases. Among recent wireless device purchasers who subscribed to a pre-paid plan, 40 percent bought the plan from a major retailer.

"Major retailers are capitalizing on a growing consumer audience who want to purchase cell phones without having to get a credit approval or locking themselves into long-term contracts," added Agarwal. "This group of consumers has been underserved in the past. The presence of big box and consumer electronic stores in locations serving a broader audience has helped maximize the opportunity to reach this section of the mobile population."

For further information, please see the full release.