Verizon will begin offering a same-day delivery and set-up service for new wireless devices this fall, in partnership with Asurion, which already provides device insurance and repair for the wireless operator.
Advertising for the new service was first noticed by by Jeff Moore, principal at Wave7 Research, as part of his firm’s data collection on carrier retail competition. A Verizon/Asurion brochure at Wal-Mart in June advertised the upcoming debut of a new device delivery and set-up as “coming Fall 2021”, pitching to customers that they will “receive expert delivery, setup and activation right at your front door as soon as same day when you purchase a new device on verizon.com. Experts can provide a personalized tutorial on your new device’s features and functionality, and help connect it to virtually anything else.” Moore said in a research note that it’s possible that only customers with Asurion plans will be eligible for the service.
Verizon representatives confirmed the new delivery and set-up service is in the works, but additional details were not immediately available.
On its website, Asurion also has made note of new benefits for Verizon customers beginning July 22 and no later than August 31, including the new device same-day delivery option and set-up that includes making sure data gets transferred from the old device properly, reconfiguring the new device’s settings for backups and security and connecting it to other devices such as TVs, vehicles, speakers and printers.
Asurion operates a 600-location network of uBreakiFix stores across the country for device repair; consumers who pay for its device repair services already have the option of having a repair technician come to their home in select locations.
The service would put new devices in consumers’ hands quickly, amid Verizon’s push to encourage upgrades to 5G devices. (Verizon already has an option for same-day device replacement through Asurion.) With consumers hanging onto their phones longer, it may have been awhile since some users upgraded their devices, and many are going to be using 5G for the first time — so the personalized tutorial on features may be a particularly attractive option right now, especially if it can be done at home rather than requiring a store visit.
“I do think this it is part of the response to the pandemic,” Moore said. “I think that we’ve definitely seen a shrinking of the number of carrier stores.” Moore’s research has shown a decline in wireless operators’ retail presence, in part as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and in part because of stores being consolidated due to the Sprint-T-Mobile US merger.
Verizon has been experimenting since late 2019 with half a dozen “express” retail stores that have a smaller physical footprint and are meant to be a rapid pick-up point for pre-ordered devices and accessories, Moore pointed out, and the same-day delivery service for new devices builds on the trends and pressures of the past year as more customers ordered devices online but wanted rapid, low/no contact fulfillment.
This isn’t the first service of its kind — a few years back, the former Sprint put together a similar service called “Direct 2 You” that even used its own fleet of several thousand cars with flashy Sprint branding. That service was eventually killed off in 2017 because of how much it cost. Since then, however, carriers like AT&T have leaned on partners for the logistics of delivery and set-up. Moore said that AT&T has indicated that it is seeing success with its own device delivery service, Right to You, which has been operated for several years in partnership with Enjoy — and now Verizon appears to be emulating that model. The AT&T/Enjoy service offers options for setting up a wireless device in your home, outside your home for increased social distancing, or remotely over the phone. Enjoy will also set up AT&T video services.
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