Mobile churn trends and customer retention strategies - Maintaining market share in the data-centric era

Please sign in or register for a free public account to access this report.
Churn is an important measure for demonstrating the ‘stickiness’ of customers to their mobile providers. Various components have an impact on churn trends, including quality of service, device availability, pricing, upgrades and subsidies, as well as tariffs and services.
In this analysis, we focus on how churn has been impacted by the introduction of innovative tariffs and services, device upgrade programmes and structural market changes.
According to GSMA Intelligence data, global connections churn has been on a downward trajectory since 2012. Yet, trends vary by region as churn has been declining in Asia whereas in Europe and the Americas churn has remained somewhat flat. Our research shows that of 130 operators who report churn figures on a regular basis, only 13 managed to reduce total churn on a yearly basis since 2011. Most of these operators are based in the developing world. The reduction in churn amongst these operators was either due to structural changes in the market or retention strategies that operators have implemented.
Related research
MWC Shanghai 2025: a window into the future?
MWC Shanghai is in the books for another year, having attracted 45,000 visitors (from 12,500 companies), along with 400 exhibitors and partner groups. The numbers were up from the 2024 event by 13% and 92% respectively. This analysis highlights the key takeaways and implications from meetings, summits and announcements at the event – and in particular, whether the progress seen in China can be mapped to other regions.
GSMA Open Gateway: State of the Market, H1 2025
Representing 285 networks and almost 80% of mobile subscribers worldwide, 73 operator groups are now committed to GSMA Open Gateway. This latest research provides an update on the state of the market, recent developments, and examples of GSMA Open Gateway in action. It also offers a deep dive on supply/demand gap analysis.
The Mobile Economy Latin America 2025
Operators across Latin America are making steady progress on their 5G journey, with adoption forecast to reach more than 50% by 2030. This latest edition of The Mobile Economy Latin America provides an update on key mobile market data and the impact of mobile on the economy across the region.
Authors
How to access this report
Annual subscription: Subscribe to our research modules for comprehensive access to more than 200 reports per year.
Enquire about subscriptionContact our research team
Get in touch with us to find out more about our research topics and analysis.
Contact our research teamMedia
To cite our research, please see our citation policy in our Terms of Use, or contact our Media team for more information.
Learn moreRelated research
MWC Shanghai 2025: a window into the future?
MWC Shanghai is in the books for another year, having attracted 45,000 visitors (from 12,500 companies), along with 400 exhibitors and partner groups. The numbers were up from the 2024 event by 13% and 92% respectively. This analysis highlights the key takeaways and implications from meetings, summits and announcements at the event – and in particular, whether the progress seen in China can be mapped to other regions.
GSMA Open Gateway: State of the Market, H1 2025
Representing 285 networks and almost 80% of mobile subscribers worldwide, 73 operator groups are now committed to GSMA Open Gateway. This latest research provides an update on the state of the market, recent developments, and examples of GSMA Open Gateway in action. It also offers a deep dive on supply/demand gap analysis.
The Mobile Economy Latin America 2025
Operators across Latin America are making steady progress on their 5G journey, with adoption forecast to reach more than 50% by 2030. This latest edition of The Mobile Economy Latin America provides an update on key mobile market data and the impact of mobile on the economy across the region.
- 200 reports a year
- 50 million data points
- Over 350 metrics