Once again, consumers say T-Mobile gave them their best retail experience

J.D. Power released today the results of its 2023 U.S. Wireless Retail Experience Study—Volume 2. This was formerly known as the Wireless Purchase Experience Studies. In other words, this study gives us the name of the wireless firms that give customers the pertinent information they need before purchasing a device or a wireless plan. Customers reporting a low satisfaction rating were less likely to have a rep explain the latest technologies, explain their invoice, or go over the latest deals.

J.D. Power managing director Ian Greenblatt said, "The in-store wireless purchase experience provides the customer with the hands-on experience they are looking for before purchasing their devices or other products. Wireless retailers that focus on the holistic approach and prioritize this experience—therefore adding value—will have an advantage over their competition."

And with that in mind, the highest-scoring carrier among mobile network operators was T-Mobile. No surprise here as the wireless provider's score of 842 placed it at the top for the 12th consecutive volume. AT&T was next with a score of 824 with Verizon in third with a tally of 821. Interestingly, only T-Mobile topped the average 828 score for this category which is due to two things: T-Mobile beating AT&T by a healthy margin, and the low number of companies in this category.

A Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) is a company that doesn't own any networks. They buy wireless service from one of the major full-service firms that own their own networks like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, and sell this wireless service to consumers at a profit.

Among full-service MVNO companies, the highest scoring for the 2023 U.S. Wireless Retail Experience Study—Volume 2 was AT&T owned Cricket Wireless for the fourth consecutive volume. Cricket's score of 856 topped runner-up Metro by T-Mobile by three points. Xfinity Mobile was third (850) followed by Spectrum Mobile (837) and Boost Mobile (826). The segment average was 847.

 Consumer Cellular topped the Value MVNO category with a score of 894 followed by the 877 points racked up by Mint Mobile and the 865 points tallied by Google Fi. Straight Talk and Tracfone were next with scores of 837 and 813 respectively. The segment average was 843.

The study was based on the responses from 12,478 customers who were surveyed between January and June of this year. The points awarded to each firm are based on a scale of 1,000.