TT Analysis : 70.1% of users don’t prefer to spend on Mobile VAS

As days go by, users expect more and more of useful and innovative products in the market. Some time back we have conducted a poll on Mobile VAS to analyse the opinion of TT readers on VAS services. Below are our findings and results of the poll conducted.

As always the prepaid user base is higher compared to the postpaid subscriber base. We have 71.6% of users from prepaid segment and 28.4% of users from postpaid segment who have participated in this poll. Hence, this poll highlights the scenario and usage patterns of VAS among prepaid users mostly.

Majority people answered  a solid NO and asper poll results, we have 71.1% of users who are with this opinion. 71.1% of users say they don't use any VAS on their mobile while 28.9% of users say otherwise. So, very bad indication which throws light on the assets and resources Operators spend for VAS and the people involved in their life cycle.

We have 70.1% of users who don't spend anything monthly for VAS on mobile while it is interesting to see  the next majority portion, 7.6% of users spending Rs30 monthly which is a common price tag for VAS on mobile monthly.

Key Observations :

1. 59.7% of users are inclined towards not using VAS service on mobile
2. 23.7% of users are using VAS for Hello/Caller tunes which shows people are interested towards customizing their public profiles.
3. MCA and various Call Management services are followed next with 22.7% of users showing interest in availing them.

70.1% of users are not happy or delighted with the VAS services offered by the operators currently. This might arise due to lack of the variety in VAS services offered or the price points at which these services are offered. Operators should take a cue from this insight and re-look at their VAS offering and its pricing. 

Yes, a predicted answer, Android followed by Windows Phone OS and IOS.

The best and the most energetic group, 69.2% of users are within age group of 21-30.This percentage is almost similar to the percentage of users who are using smartphones with Android OS.This shows majority of users are already on smartphones and tough times for product managers to design VAS and take their penetration into the markets. Time to revamp and rethink product strategies which should be on par with current smartphones and usage patterns.

A wake up call for Operators, 49.8% of users are least satisfied with the VAS offered by operators.

We still have 42.2% of users who says they are ready to subscribe/use/suggest VAS based on the importance followed by 33.6% of users with Yes and 24.2% of users with a No. We have 75.8% of users who are intersecting with yes/depends,  a good number for indication to revamp on the current strategies and offerings to incline people in using various quality VAS if provided.

Our Take :

Below screenshots  show us some examples of VAS offered and the price tags of a few services offered by operators in the market.

To conclude in short after evaluating various scenarios - 

1. On one hand operators are promoting super fast data networks showcasing various G's and on the other hand still offering a trailer video for Rs20. When a 100MB 3G data pack from an operator costs around 14Rs approx why would any user show interest to watch just a trailer for Rs20? Instead any user can subscribe to a data pack and enjoy 100MB internet access.
2. When a daily data pack costs somewhere around Rs6-7 which gives 30MB data approx (complete internet access) any user can Google and download HD wallpapers.So, would anyone need to spend Rs10 for a wallpaper? Are users really interested and operators/product managers aware of it?
3. With the growing smartphones and internet access,when content is readily available over internet, it really doesn't matter to users to rely on VAS portal offerings from operators.
4. Indeed a good move, operators have launched Re.1 VAS services, but are users really interested in using them as per the quality of content in the portals?

Casual discussion with an IT professional regarding VAS :

Q1. TT: Are you currently using VAS? 

Ans : What is VAS ? Explained. Used Hello tunes, but now stopped using it.

Q2. TT: You know any VAS other than Hello tunes?

Ans : Games and DND. Explained, DND is not a VAS.

Q3. TT: Any other services you wish to use?

Ans : When everything is available over internet why will I need to use them.

 Also Read : Analysis on VAS activation procedure followed by Indian Operators

*Some feedback responses from readers :

1. Stop those horrible 'services' altogether. Nobody wants to download horrible music/wallpaper from the operators for money when you can get them for free from the www legally! For people on smartphones, there are enough apps available anyways for weather, travel, rail & flight for people to not have to rely on these terrible telecom operators.
2. Some services by operators may be good for subscribers but they are really afraid of using these value added services.
3. VAS services and innovations are very good in this field. But the VAS activation charges are insane. Asking for paying Rs 30 a month for MCA is insane in this time. The most intriguing fact is that telecos have never reduced VAS charges after launching them.

Dear Readers, Do let us know your opinion /feedback on the poll conducted and do you agree with the outcome of this result ? Do let us know via comments.

Note : Results based on respective feedback received from poll conducted on TelecomTalk. May or may not depict the actual market scenarios. May vary based on personal interests/choices. The above analysis is to put forward thoughts/opinions of various TelecomTalk readers on the whole. No financial releases of official statements / earnings taken into consideration while compiling this story, purely based on inputs received from TT readers. Some invalid entries may be removed to make points clear.