Hows the UK PRS market doing? The Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) has published its Annual Market Review (AMR) for the 2018/19 financial year.
The Review, conducted by Analysys Mason for the PSA, includes several important findings, including significant growth for UK PRS of over £90 million in the phone-paid services market. It also estimates that 58% of adults used a phone-paid service at least once last year.
According to the report, 58% of the UK population used at least one phone-paid service in 2018–2019. Several factors are driving usage, the most-common of which are convenience, impulse purchasing and price. Some individuals do not use phone-paid services because they do not need them or because they use alternative services or payment methods.
The UK phone-paid services market was valued at £630.9 million, a significant increase on 2017/18 when it was valued at £540.5 million
The growth within the market has been driven by Operator Billing, accounting for £275.7 million of market value. This came primarily from providers of music streaming, app store purchases, gaming and other entertainment services. Much of the growth was driven by large blue-chip brands entering the market.
Premium SMS (PSMS) remains an important part of the market, with revenues growing up to £174.4 million. This came mostly from broadcast competitions. These services alone accounted for over £80 million of consumer spend.
Donations to charity by text also grew from £37.5 to £49.6 million. This was helped by two major charity telethons being held: Children in Need and Red Nose Day.
It is estimated that over 25% of the donations made to major charity telethons were made by text.
The Review predicts that the market will consolidate these gains in 2019/20, despite the steep and ongoing decline in revenues from voice-based services such as directory enquiries.
Read the Annual Market Review 2018/19 in full.
