Consumer preferences for mobile phone service in the U.S.: an application of efficient design on conjoint analysis

The wide commercial success of certain mobile phones, such as Apple‘s iPhone and RIM‘s Blackberry, was the motivation behind this study to examine empirically what drives the demand for mobile service bundles. If casual observation is an accurate indicator, consumers make their mobile purchasing decisions based solely on the type of mobile phone that mobile service providers are offering at the time as part of a bundle of services. This, in turn, raises the question of whether service bundle components, other than the mobile phone, matter to consumers. In light of increased competition and saturation in the U.S. mobile sector, gaining a deeper understanding of consumer choice is critical not only for the development of effective market strategies but also for policymaking. As governmental agencies take a closer look at competition and the need or lack thereof of regulation in the mobile sector, it is crucial to understand how consumers purchase mobile service as this may very well form the basis of new regulations and public policies. Surprisingly, although there is a large literature addressing various aspects of mobile demand, no prior study has examined this topic from a mobile service bundle perspective.