Orange Launches In-Store Expert Assistance

| Feb 14, 2011 | Consumer Services Europe | Analyst: Emma Mohr-McClune

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Event Summary

February 11, 2011 – Orange will add in-store expert advice to its premium Orange Care Expert Assistance smartphone hotline service. Around 3,000 in-store experts will be available across 1,300 shops in 13 Orange markets by H1 2011, with Orange ‘Care Corners’ planned for 300 shops. The ongoing ‘Get Started With Smartphone’ set-up service will also be available across 13 markets by the end of 2011. Orange Care acquired 3 million monthly subscribers by end-2010.

Quick Take

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on the In-Store Expert Assistance, a premium service which both anticipates and monetizes the tremendous support challenges implicit in a fast growing smartphone mass market. Plenty of other operators are attempting to offer a similar in-store set-up and configuration experience, but most do this on a courtesy basis. None of Orange’s key competitors have built up a comprehensive portfolio of premium services to monetize smartphone support in quite the same way.

• Vendor Importance: Moderate to Orange, as In-Store Expert Assistance adds to Orange Care’s strength in smartphone support, adding to the many non-smartphone specific, subscription or premium services which have been available for many years, from device insurance, security, data management and more. Orange launched its Expert Assistance hotline for smartphones with remote fault detection service (a white-labeled version of LogMeIn’s solution for smartphones) last June across several markets, and this announcement adds an in-store consultation element. All these services support Orange’s strategic goal of increasing total customer base smartphone penetration with low-cost devices (the ‘Orange Affordable Smartphones’ strategy), whilst simultaneously growing revenues through premium support.

• Market Impact: Moderate to the European smartphone services market, as In-Store Expert Assistance merely gives premium service structure to a customer set-up and configuration experience which is already offered on an ad hoc (and mostly free) basis today. Properly configuring and setting up each and every new smartphone user, and assisting with data and content transfer, is a no-brainer in terms of offsetting long and expensive support calls into a MNO call center. All MNOs agree that smartphone-related support issues are trickier, and take far longer, for call center agents to resolve.

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Current Perspective

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