Sprint Remains Top Ranked In Compass Intelligence Buyback Rankings For 2nd Year In A Row

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Strategy acceleration firm, Compass Intelligence, issued a new report on Mobile Device Reuse and Recycling this week, which includes an assessment of the used device ecosystem and a ranking of the carrier trade-in/buyback programs.  For the second consecutive year, Sprint's Buyback Program is the top ranked out of the major U.S. carriers.  The ranking compares the trade-in programs of Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular.  The study combines expert analysis with end-user research, secondary research, and an assessment of each program's capabilities.

"As customers continue to migrate to Smart Phones and carriers look to more improved sustainability initiatives, the desire and need to improve and promote trade-in programs is increasing. We've even seen major carriers revamp their programs in the last few months," said Kate Pearce, Research Strategist and Consultant at Compass Intelligence.  "Sprint's experience at providing instant incentives at its retail stores and its ability to consistently message the program through signage and sponsorships (e.g., NBA, NASCAR) are some of the key advantages it has over the competition," Pearce adds. 

Compass Intelligence predicts that there will be roughly 324 million idle or inactive mobile phones in the US by the end of 2012. Of those, only about 40 million will be recycled. As such, there is a growing opportunity to re-use or recycle the idle devices in this country.

"Because the economics of their businesses are quickly changing, trade-in programs have become critical for both environmental sustainability and for carrier long-term profitability," says Compass Intelligence's CEO, Kneko Burney.  "These programs provide a feasible way for carriers to build inventories of attractive, pre-owned Smart Phones that can be resold at an affordable price with little or no subsidy.  This reduces the cost burden of equipping millions of mobile customers with the data-ready devices that push data ARPU upward."

Key Study Findings of 7000+ mobile phone users in the US regarding device trade-in and recycling:

• 21% of respondents indicated they completed either a trade-in, buyback or recycled an old mobile phone in the last six months (January – June 2012); of these approximately 40% traded-in or recycled 2+ devices during that time.
• 33% of respondents said they planned to conduct one in the next six months
• 41% of respondents preferred a carrier-led, in-store experience with instant savings or credit on the bill.

To learn more about this research and request a free summary of the findings click here.

About Compass Intelligence
Compass Intelligence specializes in decision-support from idea to execution and customer analytics for the high-tech and telecom industries.  Our Experts make an impact through consulting, market sizing and segmentation, and competitive analysis.  Find us on http://www.compassintelligence.com or follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/CompassIntel).

For Interviews or Other Requests
Kate Pearce
Senior Analyst and Market Strategist
[email protected]

SOURCE Compass Intelligence