At A Glance
Telecom buyers shop, switch, and upgrade across multiple channels, making purchase behavior, switching motivations, and timing important for audience strategy. As competition expands across wireless, home internet, and devices, Experian Audiences helps marketers identify relevant consumers using shopping behaviors, purchase interests, and other signals to plan more targeted campaigns.Key takeaways
- Wireless carriers can’t compete on plan price alone anymore, so offers, bundles, trade-in deals, and messaging carry more weight.
- A growing share of telecom sales happens through retailers, resellers, and third-party staff, giving some carriers and device makers a partial view of their own buyers.
- Most consumers are open to switching carriers, but their motivations differ, so marketers need to match the right offer and message to the right type of switcher.
- Phone launches, upgrade offers, and bundle decisions often connect to recurring purchase moments, giving telecom and related brands clear opportunities to plan campaigns around consumer behavior. Experian Audiences helps marketers reach consumers based on shopping behaviors, purchase interests, and other relevant signals, so they can plan more timely, targeted campaigns.
Why telecom marketing needs more than a plan price pitch
Telecom competition once centered largely on plan pricing, but consumer priorities now extend beyond cost alone. Price remains a major factor, in an Oxio consumer survey, 85.02% of surveyed consumers citing it as a key consideration when choosing a mobile provider. However, 33.40% prioritize better network coverage as a reason to switch, while 74.80% would consider switching for a more personalized plan that could save them money. Carrier margins have also narrowed, reducing the ability of price alone to distinguish one brand from another. Carriers now rely more heavily on bundles, trade-in deals, and promotions to attract and retain customers.
The set of companies vying for those customers has changed too. Cable companies now sell wireless services without owning wireless network infrastructure. Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile and Charter’s Spectrum Mobile pay a major carrier for network access and resell service under their own brands, a setup known as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). This model lets them price aggressively, and together these two brands picked up 45% of all new wireless customers added in 2025. At the same time, wireless carriers are moving into home internet using cell towers instead of cable lines, and the major carriers now have the network capacity to serve up to 32 million fixed wireless access customers.
As telecom competition expands across providers and services, the ways consumers purchase phones and plans are evolving too. Most phone and plan purchases now take place somewhere other than a carrier’s own store. Walmart Supercenter alone accounted for 17.4% of all wireless store visits in the U.S. in Q2 2025, and third-party retail vendors staff much of that activity rather than carrier employees.
As telecom competition evolves, carriers, device makers, and retailers face new challenges in understanding and reaching consumers. Experian Audiences help marketers navigate these changes with audience strategies built around three key signals: who’s actually buying, who’s open to switching and why, and when people are most likely to act.
Three audience challenges shaping telecom marketing
Three audience challenges shape telecom marketing today:
- Limited buyer visibility
- Matching switchers with the right offer
- Promotion and upgrade timing
Addressing these challenges will help marketers align audience strategies with campaign goals through understanding:
- How incomplete purchase data changes prospecting
- How mixed switching motivations shape messaging
- How deal-driven moments shape the upgrade decision
1. Limited buyer visibility: How incomplete purchase data changes prospecting
A growing share of telecom transactions takes place through channels where the carrier or device maker has partial or no visibility into who made the purchase. Third-party vendors typically staff Walmart’s wireless counters, and Best Buy is building out its own marketplace business, adding another seller layer between manufacturer and buyer. Discount brands like Mint Mobile and Visible resell service on a larger carrier’s network, and that carrier’s visibility into those customers can vary based on the resale agreement. Carriers and device manufacturers still maintain direct customer relationships, but those relationships don’t capture every buyer. A retailer, reseller, staff provider, or network owner may sit between the telecom brand and the end customer. That makes it more difficult to build a full view of a best customer from direct sales data alone
Experian Audiences helps carriers and device makers reach relevant consumers beyond those they can identify through their own customer data. Marketers can use carrier-spend signals alongside retailer and electronics-shopping behaviors to identify potential buyers, including consumers who purchase through third-party channels.
Experian Audiences you can activate to rebuild buyer visibility
- AT&T Mobile Phone Spenders
- Big-Box Electronics Stores: High Spenders
- Consumer Electronics: In Store High Spenders
- Electronics Stores
- Mobile Enthusiasts
- Mobile Phones
- T-Mobile Mobile Phone Spenders
- Verizon Mobile Phone Spenders
- Walmart High Spenders
- Wireless: Cell/Mobile Phone Service Spenders
How to use these audiences
Activate a carrier spender audience, such as Verizon Mobile Phone Spenders, alongside a retailer-based audience like Walmart High Spenders or Big-Box Electronics Stores: High Spenders to reach relevant buyers beyond a carrier’s direct customer base. Activate Mobile Phones or Mobile Enthusiasts to extend reach to consumers showing interest in mobile devices, even when marketers don’t know where those consumers will ultimately shop or make a purchase.
2. Matching switchers with the right offer: How mixed switching motivations shape messaging
In 2025, 90.54% of consumers said they’d consider switching to a MVNO, and 39.21% said they’d definitely leave their current carrier. But willingness to switch doesn’t mean every consumer wants the same thing. A basic prepaid household may respond to a different offer than a household considering wireless, internet, and streaming together. AT&T linked a recent increase in customer-loss rates to increased switching activity and device upgrade cycles, and Americans switch carriers most often in March, January, and December.
Experian Audiences helps marketers move from identifying likely switchers to matching them with relevant offers. Marketers can start with switcher segments for specific carriers, then add prepaid, cord-cutting, or bundle-receptive signals to distinguish audiences that may respond to a value-focused message from those that may respond to a bundled-service offer.
Experian Audiences you can activate to engage switchers and build bundles
- Likely AT&T Mobile Service Switchers
- Likely Boost Mobile Service Switchers
- Likely Cricket Mobile Service Switchers
- Likely T-Mobile Service Switchers
- Likely Verizon Mobile Service Switchers
- Mobile Phone Service Providers (those actively in market for a new provider)
- Prepaid Phone & Calling Card users
- Prepaid Recurring Phone Services High Spend
- Streaming First Cord Cutters
- Wireless Phone Service Switchers
How to use these audiences
Activate Wireless Phone Service Switchers as the foundational audience, then add a carrier-specific segment like Likely Verizon or Likely Boost Mobile Service Switchers for conquest campaigns, Prepaid Recurring Phone Services High Spend for budget-led messaging, or Streaming First Cord Cutters for a bundle pitch. A cable company’s wireless brand looking to win back switchers in January, a peak switching month, could pair Wireless Phone Service Switchers with Mobile Phone Service Providers, then split messaging by value versus bundle appeal.
3. Promotion and upgrade timing: How deal-driven moments shape the upgrade decision
Deals play a major role in consumers’ decisions to upgrade their phones, often carrying more weight than the device launch itself. Research around the iPhone 17 launch found that discounts, holiday offers, and low monthly financing drove over 70% of consumers’ upgrade decisions, while 85% of potential upgraders were still waiting to make a purchase six weeks after launch. Trade-in programs returned $6.4 billion to U.S. consumers in 2025, up 42% year over year. These opportunities repeat around launch season, back-to-school, the holidays, and device eligibility, creating relevant moments for carriers, retailers, device makers, accessories brands, entertainment companies, and financing providers.
Experian Audiences helps marketers align campaigns with those moments by pairing purchase-propensity signals with seasonal and launch-driven audiences. Marketers can focus promotions on consumers who already show signs of electronics spending, device interest, or seasonal shopping behavior, connecting the offer to audiences more likely to be considering a purchase.
Experian Audiences you can activate around launch and promotion windows
- Amazon Prime Day Shoppers
- Big-Box Electronics Stores: High Spenders
- Consumer Electronics: In Store High Spenders
- Consumer Electronics: Online High Spenders
- Electronic Device Protection Plan Buyers
- Holiday Shoppers: Consumer Electronics
- Household Electronics Annual Spend $2,500 Plus
- Mobile Phone Accessories (mobile phone accessories shoppers)
- Mobile Phones (new mobile phone shoppers)
- Phone Accessory Purchasers, 90-Day Recency
How to use these audiences
Activate Consumer Electronics: Online High Spenders alongside Holiday Shoppers: Consumer Electronics or Amazon Prime Day Shoppers to reach people already primed to spend, then add Electronic Device Protection Plan Buyers and Phone Accessory Purchasers for cross-sell at the moment of upgrade.
The same three challenges, extended to small business buyers
Limited visibility, mixed switching motivations, and deal-driven timing aren’t only consumer patterns. Small-business owners buy wireless service, devices, and connectivity through many of the same third-party channels, switch providers for a similarly varied set of reasons, and respond to the same seasonal promotion calendar.
Marketers can treat this group as a smaller, complementary extension of the three challenges above rather than a separate problem to solve. A focused campaign can address business wireless plans, devices, connectivity, and telecom utility needs without shifting the direction of a primarily consumer-facing program.
Experian Audiences to consider for a small business wireless or connectivity campaign
- Business Founder and Owner Households
- Business Utilities (business owners responsible for telecommunications decision-making)
- Occupation: Small Business Owners
- Recently Started Business Owners
- Small Business Growth and Operations Engagers
When are telecom audiences most receptive to outreach?
Timing matters as much as audience selection in telecom marketing. Three moments can shape when people are ready to act.
Back-to-school and holiday shopping
Back-to-school device refreshes and the holiday shopping season, including Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday, align with periods when households may already plan electronics purchases. Activate Holiday Shoppers: Consumer Electronics and Amazon Prime Day Shoppers to align upgrade and bundle offers with existing spending intent.
Peak switching months
Switching activity varies throughout the year. March, January, and December are the strongest windows for win-back and conquest campaigns, particularly when marketers pair carrier-specific switcher audiences with prepaid or bundle messaging that reflects the audience’s reason for considering a change.
Device launch season
While device launches aren’t the only factor driving upgrades, they still prompt many consumers to consider a new phone. Deals and promotions can influence when those consumers make a purchase, including in the six or more weeks following a launch. Activate Consumer Electronics: Online and In Store High Spenders, Phone Accessory Purchasers, and Electronic Device Protection Plan Buyers to reach consumers showing signs of purchase interest.
Explore our syndicated audiences guide for more seasonal and launch-ready segments
What sets Experian Audiences apart?
Custom audiences
Need a custom audience? Reach out to our audience team, and we can help you build and activate an Experian audience on the platform of your choice.
Partner Audiences
Explore some of our Partner Audiences that complement Experian Audiences across key telecom use cases, with flexible activation through Experian’s data marketplace or leading activation platforms.
Evertune
- AI Retargeting > Tech & Electronics > Mobile Devices
- AI Retargeting > Tech & Electronics > Phone Plans
Facteus
- Purchase History > Technology / Media / Telecom > Telecom > SPECTRUM > Lapsed Subscriber
- Purchase History > Technology / Media / Telecom > Telecom > T-MOBILE > Low Spend Subscriber
- Purchase History > Technology / Media / Telecom > Telecom > VERIZON > Active Subscriber
NinthDecimal
- Seasonal > Black Friday Shoppers > Big Box Visitors
- Seasonal > Black Friday Shoppers > Electronics Store Visitors
- Shopper > Electronics Retailers > Best Buy > Loyalists
- Shopper > Electronics Retailers > Mobile Phone Carriers > Verizon Subscriber
Start.io
- Demographics > Family Flag > Parents with Teenagers > Parents with Teenagers
- Device Ownership > Smartphones > iOS (Apple) > iPhone SE > iPhone SE Users
- Device Ownership > Smartphones > Samsung > Galaxy A34 > Galaxy A34 Users
For a full list, download our syndicated audiences guide.
Leading activation platforms
Whether you want to activate audiences directly or build a customized media strategy, Experian gives you flexible ways to reach the right consumers.
Our 4,000+ syndicated audiences are available at over 200 leading activation platforms, including programmatic, social, and TV.
Choose the activation path that works best for your campaign:
- Activate syndicated audiences directly through your preferred platform.
- Work with our team to build a curated media strategy tailored to your goals.
Want to activate an Experian Audience on Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok, or on a platform not listed above? Contact us today.
Premium inventory through Curated Deals
Looking for a more customized solution? Curated Deals combine trusted audiences with premium inventory into a private marketplace built specifically for your campaign objectives. Our experts help you design, activate, and optimize a strategy that fits your audience and campaign needs.
Reach the right audiences for your industry
Reach telecom buyers with Experian Audiences
Telecom buyers don’t behave as one market. Experian Audiences helps marketers account for differences in purchase channel, switching motivation, and upgrade timing, then reach likely buyers across programmatic, social, connected TV, and curated media environments. Building audience strategy around how people shop, switch, and spend gives marketers a clearer path from audience selection to action.
Connect with our audience experts
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FAQs
Experian Audiences are pre-built, privacy-compliant consumer segments that help marketers target based on verified demographic, financial, and behavioral data. They’re designed for flexibility across channels and can be activated on 200+ platforms, including major social, CTV, and programmatic partners. Marketers can choose from 4,000+ syndicated audiences that capture signals such as income, spending behavior, household structure, financial attitudes, and ability to pay. These same audiences are also available through partnerships on platforms like DirecTV, Dish, Magnite, OpenAP, and The Trade Desk. For a deeper look at our audience catalog, explore our syndicated audience guide.
You can activate Experian Audiences across 200+ digital and connected TV (CTV) platforms, including Meta, Pinterest, The Trade Desk, and Audigent private marketplaces (PMPs).
Yes, you can combine your own first-party data with Experian’s 4,000+ syndicated audiences and additional segments from multiple partner data providers, as a custom audience within a Curated Deal or self-service via Audience Engine.
Appendix
Limited buyer visibility
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > AT&T mobile phone Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Big-Box Electronics Stores: High Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Consumer Electronics: In Store High Spenders
- Mobile Location Models > Visits > Electronics Stores
- Audigent > Affinity > Technology > Mobile Enthusiasts
- Audigent > In-Market > Consumer Electronics > Mobile Phones
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > T-Mobile mobile phone Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > Verizon mobile phone Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Walmart High Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > Wireless: Cell/Mobile Phone Service Spenders
Switching and offer matching
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > Likely AT&T Mobile Service Switchers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > Likely Boost Mobile Service Switchers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > Likely Cricket Mobile Service Switchers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > Likely T-Mobile Service Switchers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > Likely Verizon Mobile Service Switchers
- Audigent > In-Market > Telecom > Mobile Phone Service Providers
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Purchase Behavior > Prepaid Phone & Calling Card users
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Prepaid Recurring Phone Services High Spend
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Cord Cutters > Streaming First Cord Cutters
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > Wireless Phone Service Switchers
Promotions, launches, and timing
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Personas (US) Seasonal > Amazon Prime Day Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Big-Box Electronics Stores: High Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Consumer Electronics: In Store High Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Consumer Electronics: Online High Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Lifestyle and Interests > Electronic Device Protection Plan Buyers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Consumer Electronics
- Consumer Financial Insights > Discretionary Spend – Electronics > Household Electronics Annual Spend $2,500 Plus
- Audigent > In-Market > Consumer Electronics > Mobile Phone Accessories
- Audigent > In-Market > Consumer Electronics > Mobile Phones
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Ecommerce > Phone Accessory Purchasers – 90 Day Recency
Small business extension
- Demographics > Occupation > Business Founder and Owner Households
- Audigent > IAB > Business and Finance > Business > Business Utilities
- Consumer Behaviors > Occupation: Small Business Owners
- Publisher Derived > Life Events > Recently Started Business Owners
- Publisher Derived > Interest: Business and Industrial > Small Business Growth and Operations Engagers
Partner Audiences
Evertune
- AI Retargeting > Tech & Electronics > Mobile Devices
- AI Retargeting > Tech & Electronics > Phone Plans
Facteus
- Purchase History > Technology / Media / Telecom > Telecom > SPECTRUM > Lapsed Subscriber
- Purchase History > Technology / Media / Telecom > Telecom > T-MOBILE > Low Spend Subscriber
- Purchase History > Technology / Media / Telecom > Telecom > VERIZON > Active Subscriber
NinthDecimal
- Seasonal > Black Friday Shoppers > Big Box Visitors
- Seasonal > Black Friday Shoppers > Electronics Store Visitors
- Shopper > Electronics Retailers > Best Buy > Loyalists
- Shopper > Electronics Retailers > Mobile Phone Carriers > Verizon Subscriber
Start.io
- Demographics > Family Flag > Parents with Teenagers > Parents with Teenagers
- Device Ownership > Smartphones > iOS (Apple) > iPhone SE > iPhone SE Users
- Device Ownership > Smartphones > Samsung > Galaxy A34 > Galaxy A34 Users
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In our Ask the Expert series, we interview leaders from our partner organizations who are helping lead their brands to new heights in AdTech. Today’s interview is with Samantha Zhang, Senior Data Scientist, and Jim Meyer, General Manager of the DASH TV Universe Study at the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). DASH is an annual tracking study conducted by the ARF to define and better understand TV audience behavior and household dynamics. What does DASH measure, and how does it help the industry understand TV consumption today? By capturing hundreds of individual- and household-level data points from each respondent in a rigorous and nationally projectable sample, DASH creates a comprehensive picture of U.S. consumer TV “infrastructure” – how America watches. Core elements in DASHElements that create context in DASHTV setsLocation | brand | smartness | service modes | sources DemographicsConnected devices Game consoles |video players | streaming devicesYesterday viewing Daypart | TV/device genre | Out-of-home viewingMobile devicesOwners | sharing usersShoppingOnline and in-store | Exposure to major RMNsInternet serviceModes | ISPs | connectivity by device Streaming audio Streaming TVSVOD/AVOD tiers and sharing | FAST Email accounts and apps Live TV Modes of access | including casting from devices Social media For example, DASH gathers: Data on every TV set, including brand, room location, age, “smartness,” and connection devices and modes Household connectivity and video service data, even in homes with no TV set Internet Service Providers (ISP) and TV service usage, including Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs), virtual vMVPDs, streamers (ad-supported and premium), and Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) channels Person-level ownership and usage of video-capable mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops Measures of viewing and co-viewing across dayparts, devices, and services Additional modules covering shopping and retail media networks, streaming audio, social media, email, and apps Broad coverage and granularity make DASH a uniquely robust source of truth for practitioners across the industry, including measurement experts and ad programming strategists. DASH also reports regularly (and publicly) on key industry dynamics. DASH identified a growing segment of device-only viewers – now nearly 9 million households that watch TV, but do not own a TV set – and highlighted the implications of that trend for traditional ratings systems based only on households with TV sets. Households (HHs – million)2025 HHs (M) U.S. penetrationChange vs. 2024 (M)Total US134.8100%+2.7Connected TV (CTV)114.685%+2.1TV (Set)124.292.2%+1.1Device-only8.86.6%+1.6TV-Accessible133.198.7%+2.7 DASH called out the rise in app-based pay TV and proposed a new connection framework that better represents the modern TV world, in which linear and streaming overlap. DASH also defines the universes of households reachable with advertising. This graphic, for example, shows how all ad-supported linear and streaming properties in aggregate define the true scale of TV advertising. While 35 million households (and growing) are reachable only with streaming ads and 13 million (and falling) only with linear ads, most households are reachable with both, underscoring the importance of understanding the “overlap.” Who uses DASH data, and what decisions does it help inform? There are three primary users of DASH, each with its own use cases: Measurement providers, including Nielsen, use DASH to calibrate viewership data, turn household data into persons data (and vice versa) and estimate potential reached audiences–what the providers call media-related universe estimate (MRUEs)–for the calculation of ratings. Not surprisingly, measurement companies were the first to see the value that an independent TV universe study could provide. Media companies, including major broadcasters and streamers, use DASH to add context and color to their ad sales presentations – and to track the measurement providers, whose ratings play a major role in valuing ad inventory. AdTech companies, including Experian, use DASH to create high-value audience segments for activation. The recent accreditation of DASH by the Media Rating Council (MRC) and adoption by Nielsen as an input to its TV ratings have generated interest from a broad range of companies. We are actively pursuing new licensees and partners to make DASH more useful within, and even outside, the TV ecosystem. What does MRC accreditation signify, and why is it meaningful for DASH? MRC accreditation means DASH passed a rigorous audit conducted by Ernst & Young over many months, which validated our methodology, controls, and data quality. MRC accreditation establishes that DASH is an industry-standard dataset. While the service provider normally announces its own accreditation, the MRC took the unusual step of issuing its own release on DASH, announcing the accreditation of DASH for TV universe estimation and endorsing the study for broader, cross-media use. How does Experian use DASH data to build audiences? The segments combine specific TV usage habits and behaviors from DASH with Experian data on demographics, spending, and other contextual inputs to create a fuller view of consumer viewing behavior. They are designed to be valuable to advertisers in many categories and planning contexts – and to be customizable to fit advertisers’ media targets. The segments can be used to: Apply or suppress audiences to improve target coverage across a campaign Better align media and creative Reach elusive but high-value viewers, such as Ad Avoiders Drive valuable consumer behavior Achieve specific advertising objectives What are some practical use cases for DASH-based audiences? Here are some practical use cases for four different kinds of DASH segments in five different advertiser categories. Travel Co-WatchersA couples-only resort uses TV Co-Watching Households without Children to strengthen target reach and ad memory recallA big theme park destination uses TV Co-Watching Households with Children to reach families in moments of togetherness Home Entertainment TV Owners and Brand LoyalistsA premium TV manufacturer uses the overlap of Multi Brand TV Owners and Single Brand TV Loyalist Households to market its newest TV model to its most loyal consumers. Fast Food Screen Size ViewersA fast food chain with a high-impact new brand campaign uses Large Screen TV Viewers to better align the media and creativeThat same fast food chain uses Small-Screen TV Viewers to drive store traffic by increasing exposure of its retail campaign among on-the-go viewers Financial Services Cord Cutters A personal cost management app and a cash-back credit card target Streaming-First Cord Cutter Households to reach young, tech-savvy, cost-conscious consumers Thanks for the interview. Where can readers learn more about DASH? We started work on DASH seven years ago, and it’s been fun to watch it “grow up.” Our partnership with Experian is a big step toward putting DASH to work for advertisers and agencies. To learn more, visit our site at https://theARF.org/DASH or contact us at DASH@theARF.org. Contact us About our experts Samantha Zhang, Senior Data Scientist at ARF Samantha Zhang is a Senior Data Scientist at the Advertising Research Foundation working on the DASH TV Universe Study, with additional research spanning areas including attention measurement, digital privacy, and artificial intelligence. Jim Meyer, General Manager, DASH, at ARF Jim Meyer is general manager and co-founder of the ARF DASH TV Universe Study and managing partner of Golden Square, LLC, which advises media and research technology companies on growth strategy and development. Latest posts