Analysis of Consumer Decision-Making in the Mobile Telephony Market: The Case of Operators (Vodafone and One) in Albania

The telecommunications industry in Albania has undergone rapid development driven by globalization and market liberalization. In this context, mobile operators increasingly rely on customer experience strategies to achieve sustainable competitive advantages. Consumer decision-making in the mobile telephony market is a multidimensional process that begins with the choice of operator and continues through service usage, evaluation of the experience, and the final behavioral response. This process is shaped by economic, psychological, social and technological factors. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the consumer decision-making process and the customer experience related to the two main mobile telephony operators in Albania (Vodafone and One Albania), with particular attention to the issue of hidden charges and transparency in pricing. The study aims to identify the most frequent consumer problems, analyze user reactions, and provide recommendations based on the main findings. The paper proposes a new conceptual approach to customer experience based on a legally grounded customer-journey model focused on hidden prices in telecommunications services. Unlike traditional customer journey frameworks, which primarily emphasize marketing interactions and service touchpoints, the proposed model integrates consumer protection and regulatory dimensions into the analysis of the customer journey. Furthermore, the study introduces a Sankey-based operationalization of the customer journey, allowing the visualization of consumer transitions between stages of decision-making, problem identification, response strategies and final behavioral outcomes. The empirical analysis is based on a survey conducted among young consumers in the city of Elbasan. The sample consists of 200 respondents who completed a self-administered questionnaire with closed and multiple-choice questions. Data were collected between August and November 2025. After data validation, 160 responses (80% of the sample) were considered valid for analysis. The findings reveal significant weaknesses in customer experience and transparency within the Albanian mobile telecommunications market. Despite the widespread use of mobile services, consumer trust remains relatively low. The Sankey diagram provides a dynamic representation of the Albanian consumer journey, showing how users frequently encounter insufficient information, pricing ambiguities and difficulties in resolving service-related problems, often leading them back to the same operators due to limited market alternatives. The study contributes to the literature by integrating consumer protection and regulatory considerations into the customer journey framework and by demonstrating the analytical value of Sankey visualization in mapping consumer experience flows. The results provide a basis for potential legal and regulatory initiatives, improvements in operators’ internal service processes, and more effective consumer information policies. Received: 17 January 2026 / Revised: 24 February 2026 / Accepted: 7 March 2026 / Published: 25 March 2026