Best Buy Sells Nearly As Many iPhones as Apple
Apple back in 2008 teamed up with Best Buy to start peddling more iPhones, and it seems the partnership is paying off. Best Buy sells almost as many iPhones as Apple itself, according to new data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
Apple back in 2008 teamed up with Best Buy to start peddling more iPhones, and it seems the partnership is paying off. Best Buy sells almost as many iPhones as Apple itself, according to new data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
The firm surveyed iPhone buyers in December 2011, January 2012, and February 2012, asking them where they purchased their device. It found that Apple itself sold 15 percent of all iPhones purchased during the survey period. Best Buy, meanwhile, sold 13 percent, just two percent less than Apple itself.
Mobile carriers AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, meanwhile, sold a combined 69 percent of iPhones. AT&T led the charge, accounting for 32 percent of sales, while Verizon took in 30 percent, and Sprint had 7 percent. But Apple and Best Buy sold more new models than the carriers did.
"Apple and Best Buy sold more high-end phones, with the iPhone 4S accounting for 87 percent and 82 percent of total iPhone sales, respectively, for those two outlets," Consumer Intelligence Research Partners wrote in a report published this week. "In contrast, carriers sold relatively more lower-end phones, with iPhone 4S accounting for 57 percent to 66 percent of total iPhone sales at AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint."
The survey also revealed that users are more apt to buy an iPhone in a brick-and-mortar store than online. Retail stores account for 76 percent of iPhone sales, while online outlets account for 24 percent. In the period immediately after the iPhone 4S launch, however, retail stores and online outlets accounted for 67 percent and 33 percent of sales, respectively, largely due to pre-orders of the device.