Purpose

This report shares data from a poll Zeeto conducted that surveys how the coronavirus has impacted consumers in the mobile phone market.

Methodology

On April 22, we surveyed 4,920 US citizens with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of +/- 2-5 percentage points depending on the subset of data. Each chart displays its details regarding statistical significance. 

First we asked the following question: “Before Covid-19, were you planning on purchasing a new phone within the next 6 months?”

Answers:

• Yes, I was going to buy one for sure 
• Yes, I was considering a new phone 
• No, I wasn't planning on buying a new phone
  

To control for position bias, we rotated the first two answers every time the poll was run. Those who answered “no” did not move on to the next question.

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Then we asked the following question: “Are you holding off on buying a phone because of Covid-19?” 

Answers: 

• Yes, I'm holding off because I'm worried about my finances 
• Yes, I'm holding off because I lost my job 
• Yes, I'm holding off because I don't want to go to a store right now 
• No, I'm not holding off
  

To control for position bias, we rotated the first three answers every time the poll was run. Those who answered “no” did not move on to the next question.

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Next we asked the following question: “Are you considering switching mobile carriers because of Covid-19?”

Answers: 

• Yes, I’m thinking about switching to a less expensive carrier 
• Yes, but I was planning on switching even before Covid-19 
• No, I’m planning on staying with my current carrier 

To control for position bias, we rotated the first two answers every time the poll was run. Every respondent moved on to the next question. 

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Next we asked the following question: “When social distancing ends, are you still planning on buying a phone?”

Answers: 

• Yes, I plan on buying one as soon as I can go to the store safely 
• Yes, but I will wait a few months, after stay-at-home orders are over
• Yes, but I'll wait until next year 
• No, I've given up on buying a phone any time soon 

To control for position bias, we rotated the first three answers every time the poll was run. Every respondent moved on to the next question. 

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Finally we asked the following question: “Who is your current mobile phone carrier?”

Answers:  

• Verizon
• AT&T
• T-Mobile
• Sprint 
• Cricket
• Other

To control for position bias, we rotated all of the answers every time the poll was run.

Results

“Before Covid-19, were you planning on purchasing a new phone within the next 6 months?”
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Before the pandemic, more than a quarter of Americans were in the market for a new phone, with 19% considering a purchase and 9% planning a purchase over the next 6 months (see Graph A). Looking at the data by gender, males were more likely to purchase a new phone, with 21% considering a purchase and 11% planning a purchase. This compares to 17% of females considering a purchase and 7% planning a purchase (see Graph B). Likeliness to purchase a new phone decreased with age: 36% of people 18-29 were considering or planning a purchase, followed by 32% in their 30s, 31% in their 40s, 24% in their 50s, 23% in their 60s, and 18% of people 70 and above (see Graph C). Looking at the data by income, people making 50k annually and above and under 25k annually were the most likely to purchase a new phone, whereas people with no income were the least likely. People making 25-49k annually fell in the middle at 27% (see Graph D).
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“Are you holding off on buying a phone because of Covid-19?”
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60% of the people no longer in the market are also not planning on switching carriers. Of those who remain, 18% are considering switching to a less expensive carrier as a result of Covid-19, whereas 22% had planned on switching before the pandemic (see Graph G). Looking at the data by gender, 65% of females are not considering switching carriers, compared to 57% of males. Males are slightly more likely to consider switching as a result of Covid-19 at 23%, compared to 20% females. 20% of males had planned on switching carriers before the pandemic, which is slightly higher than the 15% of females who had planned on switching (see Graph H).
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“When social distancing ends, are you still planning on buying a phone?”
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Most people no longer in the market still plan on buying a new phone once social distancing ends, but there are notable differences in timing. 29% are planning on purchasing a new phone as soon as they can get to a store safely, 39% are planning to wait a few months, and 17% are planning to wait until next year. Only 15% said they have given up on buying a new phone any time soon (see Graph I). Looking at the data by gender, 17% of females have given up buying a new phone any time soon, which is higher than the 13% of males. While males are more likely to buy a phone once social distancing ends, they are more likely to wait a few months (41%) or until next year (19%), whereas females are more likely to purchase one as soon as they can get to a store safely at 30% (see Graph J).

‍“Who is your current mobile phone carrier?”
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Of the people no longer in the market, 19% are with T-Mobile, 15% with AT&T, 14% with Verizon, 9% with Sprint, 8% with Cricket, and 36% with some other carrier. Since there is a high percentage of people making less than 25k annually with some other carrier, we probably are missing a carrier option. We also believe this statistic is slanting the overall provider numbers. By way of contrast, if we only look at people making over 75k annually, the numbers are much less skewed toward the other carrier option, with a higher percentage of people with T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T (see Graph K). A greater percentage of males no longer in the market are with T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint, whereas a greater percentage of females no longer in the market are with AT&T, Cricket, and other carriers (see Graph L).


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Appendix

“Before Covid-19, were you planning on purchasing a new phone within the next 6 months?”
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Graph A: Overall Responses

●      https://bit.ly/2YehnTm
●      95%Confidence level, 2% MOE

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Graph B: Responses by Gender

●      https://bit.ly/3aJRrBT
●      95%Confidence level, 2% MOE

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Graph C: Responses by Age

●      https://bit.ly/2zEczg2
●      95%Confidence level, 4.5% MOE

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Graph D: Responses by Income

●      https://bit.ly/3bLuqzN
●      95%Confidence level, 5% MOE

“Are you holding off on buying a phone because of Covid-19?”
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Graph E: Overall Responses

●      https://bit.ly/2yQMgmi
●      95%Confidence level, 3% MOE

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Graph F: Responses by Gender

●      https://bit.ly/3aLDDH0
●      95%Confidence level, 4% MOE for males; 95% Confidence level, 4.5% MOE for females

“Are you considering switching mobile carriers because of Covid-19?”

Graph G: Overall Responses  

●      https://bit.ly/35aLeha
●      95%Confidence level, 3.5% MOE

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Graph H: Responses by Gender  

●      https://bit.ly/2KD7Tt4
●      95%Confidence level, 4% MOE for males; 95% Confidence level, 5% MOE for females

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“When social distancing ends, are you still planning on buying a phone?"

Graph I: Overall Responses

●      https://bit.ly/35f5nmo
●      95%Confidence level, 3.5% MOE

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Graph J: Responses By Gender

●      https://bit.ly/3cThyYv
●      95%Confidence level, 4.5% MOE for males; 95% Confidence level, 5% MOE for females  

“Who is your current mobile phone carrier?”
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Graph K: Overall Responses

●      https://bit.ly/2KHeYc2
●      95%Confidence level, 3.5% MOE

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Graph L: Responses by Gender

●      https://bit.ly/2VKfpIP
●      95%Confidence level, 4.5% MOE for males; 95% Confidence level, 5% MOE for females

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