By Ruairi O'Shea
Former Investigative Writer | Kaituhi Mātoro
When it comes to mobile providers, New Zealanders like a “set and forget” approach. But as mobile services, prices and performance fluctuate, staying with the same provider might mean you’re spending more than you need to.
There are some clear benefits to be had from switching your mobile provider – or at least looking into it. Yet only 8% of consumers switched their mobile provider in 2023, according to Consumer 2023 Mobile Satisfaction Survey.
Many consumers could be getting better service at lower prices. They just don’t know it yet.
Why don’t people switch?
Lack of knowledge about their options, or a perception that switching is too much effort, are barriers to consumers getting the best deal.
Of those that have not changed provider, 69% are satisfied by the service they get from their current mobile provider, and this is the main reason they don’t switch.
But while nearly 7 in 10 non-switchers were happy with their mobile provider, almost a third weren’t sure that they were getting the best deal. Another 27% thought it was too much effort to change providers.
Just 1% of consumers stay with their provider because they know they're getting the best deal.
You can’t find savings if you don’t look for them
Switchers (people who have changed mobile provider in the last 12 months) are much more likely to browse the market to see what’s on offer. All up, 52% of switchers occasionally or regularly compare the plans offered by different providers, compared to just 29% of non-switchers.
Among the non-switchers, 31% never compare plans from different providers.
Browsing the different mobile plans available probably isn’t your idea of a good time, but it’s hard to know if a better deal is out there if you don’t go looking for it.
Why do switchers switch?
The primary drivers for switching are better prices and better plans.
Among consumers who switched mobile providers, 53% said it was because their new provider offered a better price, while 39% said the new provider offered a better plan.
Switchers are also more likely to feel they are getting value for money than non-switchers: 82% of switchers in our survey said they are satisfied by the value for money they receive from their provider, compared to 75% of non-switchers.
Switchers, it seems, are exploring their options and allowing competition to work for them. They are finding better prices and better plans.
Non-switchers could be missing out.
Switching is easy
For 27% of non-switchers, the perception that switching is too much effort is one of the main reasons they don’t do it.
Yet switchers reported they found it very easy to change providers.
These positive experiences mean switchers are more likely to explore their options and change mobile providers again in the next 12 months – 41% of survey respondents who had changed provider in the last 12 months said that they were likely to switch again in the next year, compared to just 18% of non-switchers.
Among all non-switchers, 62% said they were unlikely to change provider in the next year.
Who has the most satisfied customers?
If you’re thinking about switching, our mobile satisfaction survey could point you in the right direction.
Skinny had the most satisfied customers in 2023, with 74% saying they were very satisfied with the service they received and 69% feeling satisfied with the provider’s value for money.
By contrast, One.NZ had the least satisfied customers. Just 62% of One.NZ customers were satisfied by the service they received, while 51% were satisfied with the value for money on offer.
Whoever your current mobile provider, the survey responses are clear – if you haven’t switched provider for a few years, it’s time to shop around.
