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Boost Mobile is in the midst of shaking up its national retail offerings according to the latest prepaid report from the firm Wave7 Research. Analysts from Wave7 have recently spotted new signage and updated pricing cards at select major retailers, including Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. A complete restructuring of Boost Mobile’s national retail plans is expected in April, with existing plans remaining available through the current tax season.
When the rollout is complete, retail stores will eliminate the lowest-cost plans, notably the $15 plan ( with up to 3GB data) and the $25 unlimited plan, reducing the retail offerings to just three main plans. Early indications suggest Walmart will be the only retailer continuing to offer a $25 plan.
The outgoing $25/month plan at other national retail stores will be replaced with a nearly identical plan but priced at $35/month. Taxes and fees will be included whereas they weren't before. Aside from that, everything else will remain the same. The plan will still come with 30GB of high-speed data when connected to either the T-Mobile or AT&T networks and may include 100GB or even unlimited when connected to Boost's native 5G network. Boost Mobile will continue to market the plan as being available for $35/month forever, mirroring their prior "$25/month forever" tagline.
The other two plans that will be sold in retail are flagship plans matching what is on Boost Mobile's website for $50/month and $60/month. The $50 plan includes 40GB of high-speed data when connected to AT&T or T-Mobile. It also comes with hotspot and talk and text to global numbers. The $60 plan increases the data allotment to 50GB and adds roaming in Canada and Mexico. Taxes and fees are included.
Editor's Take
Some retail stores were selling up to six Boost Mobile plans, with a few different than what could be found on Boost's website. I think consolidating offers and better matching what's on Boost's website is a good move and less confusing for customers. However, eliminating Boost’s most affordable retail plans and increasing the $25 plan price to $35 appears primarily aimed at boosting revenue—likely influenced by parent company EchoStar’s substantial debt load.
We'll also need to keep an eye out with what happens with Boost's online plans. The upcoming changes might foreshadow similar price increases there. If Boost doesn't adjust online plans to align with retail, customer confusion would persist. Not only that, there is currently a price war going on among carrier owned prepaid brands at the $25 price point. Many are offering truly unlimited 5G data plans and promos to new customers. It's hard for me to see Boost being able to compete if they can't offer the same in some capacity. But maybe that's what Walmart's $25/month plan is there for.
Jeff Moore, Principal of Wave7 Research commented to BestMVNO: "Now that Boost has its own nationwide network, it has owner’s economics and can afford to provide more for the dollar. These changes reflect that and also provide greater simplicity. Clearly, Boost is also making an effort to increase its ARPU.”