We learned from the December CIRP report that the majority of US iPhone purchases end up with carriers. But what about the iPad and Mac, do the numbers change? In a study to answer the question “How powerful is the Apple Store?” CIRP's latest study shows where in the US most people buy iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
CIRP highlights that it can its bustling retail stores seem to be “the base ship for Apple shopping.” along with the Apple Store app and online shopping. However, as revealed in a previous iPhone shopping survey, this is not the case, as only 1/4 of iPhones in the US are sold direct to consumers, and the majority, 67%, are sold by carriers.
In their new study, CIRP includes iPad and Mac to compare them to the most popular Apple devices.
Interestingly, the Apple Store only sells a slightly larger share of the iPad compared to the iPhone. 29% of Apple tablets are sold by the company itself, with the remaining 71% coming from Amazon, Best Buy, and other big retailers like Target and Walmart.
Amazon is just around the corner. behind Apple, selling 23% of iPads in the US, while Best Buy is down 16%.
Not surprising , but the Mac is the best-selling product directly from Apple. 39% of customers buy from the company for their Mac, but again, the majority (61%) buy elsewhere.
Third-party retailer rankings flipped with Mac, with 26% purchasing their Mac from Best Buy. 12% go to Amazon. The remaining 23% went to another outlet.
Closing, CIRP highlights that while Apple has an impressive retail business of its own, it relies heavily on third-party retailers:
&# 8220;Apple is a great manufacturer and they've built an amazing retail business, but that doesn't make them independent of their retail partners. Apple needs mobile operators not only to provide phone service, but also to sell the iPhone. Apple needs Best Buy to sell Macs and iPads, and dare we say Apple needs Amazon to sell iPads”
