A new survey shows that most who buy an iPhone to use with AT&T or Verizon were already subscribers to those carriers, while a larger number of Sprint iPhone buyers were moving from another carrier.
The data comes from a new report available from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, which provided a copy to AppleInsider on Wednesday. Its research found that 80 percent of AT&T iPhone buyers and 85 percent purchasing Apple’s iPhone for use with Verizon were already subscribers to those respective carriers.
Only 67 percent of Sprint iPhone users were already with the carrier. 9 percent switched from AT&T, 2 percent moved over from Verizon, and 5 percent defected from T-Mobile.
The largest share of “switchers” moving to Sprint came from someone other than one of the “big four” carriers. CIRP’s research found that 16 percent of Sprint iPhone buyers fell under the “other” category, which is primarily made up of pre-paid carriers.
In all, a third of iPhone users on Sprint are new to the company. More than twice the percentage of new customers gained by Verizon through iPhone purchasers.
The survey also shows that AT&T and Verizon were able to keep 94 percent of their customers that bought an iPhone, with Sprint retaining 88 percent of its existing customers.