San Diego – Research company gap intelligence launched a weekly competitive-intelligence service covering smartphones at retail.
The company is tracking more than 1,000 device placements and providing price data and promotion analysis across major carriers and big-box retailers, including their in-store and online sales. A placement is a unique product at one unique account, so a specific Verizon SKU found at six retail accounts would count as six placements.
The company already tracks such data in the information technology, consumer electronics, imaging, and home appliance industries. The new service expands the company’s overall competitive intelligence services across almost 25 industry segments, including televisions, home audio, home appliances, printers, notebooks, tablets, and cameras.
For its service, gap tracks Best Buy, Costco, RadioShack, Sam’s Club, Staples, Target, Walmart, and carrier stores including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Gap also monitors the retailer and carrier websites and Amazon.com.
Among its most recent findings, gap found that during the week of Feb. 15, pre-paid phones accounted for 41 percent of smartphone placements and that, following other retailers, warehouse club Costco recently began phasing out traditional two-year agreements in favor of selling unsubsidized phones paid off in monthly installments.
