Retailers are complaining that 18 month contracts are stifling the mobile industry, according to an article in Mobile Today.
A large number of customers were locked in to 18 month contracts during late 2005 and early 2006 when they were being pushed hard by retailers. These customers are now unable to sign up for new contracts until their current contract has expired. With lots of new handsets on the market the industry should be seeing strong sales, but the slump has even forced Phones 4u and The Carphone Warehouse to start buying customers out of 18 month contracts.
According to a source in the Mobile Today article, customers are starting to regret ever signing up to their contracts.
The market is dead. There just aren’t the new customers free to sign up at the moment.
A lot of consumers on their first 18-month contracts are realising it wasn’t such a good idea. They may have got a good deal, but they are not getting a new handset as often as they would like.
