Published on July 9th, 2014 | by Admin
Vodafone sets smartphone customers free
- Vodafone offers customers choice to spread the cost of a new smartphone over 6, 12, 18 or 24 months on a SIM-only plan
- One in four (25%) of Australians upgrade their smartphone every 18 months or more frequently. This increases to 41% of 18-24 year olds.
- Less than 50 per cent of consumers upgrade their smartphone every two to three years
Wednesday, 9 July, 2014 – Vodafone today announced it is giving customers the choice to buy a smartphone and spread the cost over 6, 12, 18 or 24 months.
According to a study commissioned by Vodafone, one in four Australians upgrades their smartphone every 18 months or more frequently. This increases to 41% for Australians aged 18-24 years. Less than 50 per cent of consumers upgrade their smartphone every two to three years.
“We’re offering customers an alternative to the way it’s always been done,” Vodafone’s chief marketing officer Kim Clarke said today.
“We created bundles at a time when mobile phones had black and white screens. Eleven years on, the market has changed. We’ve entered an era of innovation where smartphones are constantly reinventing the terms of what they can do, so we’ve rewritten the rules on how we sell smartphones to bring us closer to the needs of customers today.
“We realise for tech aficionados, two years can be a long time between smartphones. We want to help our customers who are devotees of new technology have the jump on the latest smartphones.”
With no sneaky fees, Ms Clarke says Vodafone customers simply pay Vodafone’s retail price for the phone, and pay it off over the period that suits their budget.
“Our competitors call this type of freedom a luxury and they will charge you for it, but we won’t. You pay our retail price for the phone, because we believe flexibility should be the norm, not a privilege.
“With Vodafone, you are the important one – you have the choice and control – it’s about doing things your way,” added Ms Clarke.