Mobile carriers sell more iPhones than Apple retail stores

AppleInsider · February 15, 2023 4:06PM

Apple's online sales and retail stores combine to be the leading seller of iPads and Macs, but the company falls behind carriers in iPhone sales.

iPhone 14

The latest report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners examined data from Apple customers to get a sense of how Apple retail and online stores factor into purchases of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

For example, Apple's retail operations are the leading seller of iPads and Macs in the US but sell less than 40% in each case. In this study. CIRP has combined Apple retail stores and what it estimates are online store sales.

Mobile phone carriers are responsible for the most iPhone sales by a wide margin, accounting for at least two-thirds of sales in any given quarter.

Apple product sales numbers as of December 2022. Source: CIRP

The strong sales are likely likely due to cellular plan upgrade offers and other discounts, as well as installment plans. Some carriers will spread the cost of an iPhone further than Apple Card Monthly Installments.

Carriers have also seen a growth in iPad sales since they promote adding devices to existing mobile phone accounts.

However, Apple is still the leader in iPad sales at 29%, followed by Amazon at 23%. Apple is also the leading seller of Mac computers at 39%, with Best Buy not far behind in that category.

In the end, while Apple is a strong manufacturer, it still needs to rely on other companies to sell its products. For example, the company needs mobile carriers for iPhone sales and cellular service, and Amazon and Best Buy are also essential partners for Mac and iPad sales.

It's not clear how accurate the Apple-direct figures are. Apple hasn't reported sales volumes in years.

Read on AppleInsider

bloggerblog · February 15, 2023 4:19PM

Agreed, I bought my iPhone 14 Pro from an AT&T store because their upgrade plan sounded better than Apple's, for example they would drive to you to replace a broken screen. Also Apple didn't have the Pro in stock at any of their stores but AT&T was able to find me one.

person · February 15, 2023 4:24PM

T-Mobile has better financing. And using the Apple Card for Apple purchases is a flippin joke. It counts towards your credit limit on your card and therefore affects your credit score.

Using T-Mobile it’s 0 percent interest and does not affect my credit limit.

Unless they majorly change that in a good way I’ll never use my Apple Card to purchase apple products again. Made that mistake purchasing Apple Watches.

neverindoubt · February 15, 2023 4:24PM

Who does this surprise?

There's 273 Apple stores in the US.

There are 5,361 AT&T stores in the US.

You can Google yourself for the rest of the mobile company store numbers if that's your thing.

jimh2 · February 15, 2023 4:28PM

I do not believe there are any mobile phone companies who sell computers so that point is meaningless.

daalseth · February 15, 2023 4:34PM

neverindoubt said:

Who does this surprise?

There's 273 Apple stores in the US.

There are 5,361 AT&T stores in the US.

You can Google yourself for the rest of the mobile company store numbers if that's your thing.

That was my first thought. Like, well, yeah this isn’t strange at all. More outlets, by a factor of ten or twenty or more, plus you need a cell contract to make them work and you’ll get more sales through the places that you can do it all at once. Same goes for iPads and Macs. Apple is the primary company that sells those, plus they don’t need a contract with anyone to get them running, so yeah Apple would sell more of them.

chadbag · February 15, 2023 4:49PM

When I got my iPhone 14 Pro Max last Fall, I used a T-Mobile store. I walked in and walked out same day. No wait. Apple’s online store was showing shipping in something like 3 or 5 weeks for the model I got and no Apple Store local pickup available any faster.

red oak · February 15, 2023 4:51PM

Apple self reports in its annual 10K the percentage of sales directly to consumers.

In 2022, it was 38%. It was 285 in 2018, and 31% in 2019. So there is a clear trend to direct

Note I believe these numbers include all Service revenue

mike1 · February 15, 2023 5:24PM

Not a surprise at all considering the sheer number of locations that the major cell companies have.

We bought my wife's 14Pro at the T&T store because they had the configuration she wanted in stock.

baconstang · February 15, 2023 8:43PM

Since they don't mention Boost Mobile on the Apple site, I just ordered it directly from Boost.

jcs2305 · February 16, 2023 5:36PM

person said:

T-Mobile has better financing. And using the Apple Card for Apple purchases is a flippin joke. It counts towards your credit limit on your card and therefore affects your credit score.
Using T-Mobile it’s 0 percent interest and does not affect my credit limit.
Unless they majorly change that in a good way I’ll never use my Apple Card to purchase apple products again. Made that mistake purchasing Apple Watches.

Apple still offers 0% financing through citizens at Apple store as well if you don't want that balance to affect your credit limit on your Apple card, and possibly your credit score.

I check my credit score and credit utilization regularly and have not seen any difference between a 0% loan or 0% financing with Apple card as far as credit score impact. If you finance through the carrier or citizens they do a hard pull on your credit before they finance anything, apple does not do a hard pull when using AC financing. Also if you have a high utilization that is bringing your score down then carrying the balance on the AC will have a negative impact on your score. I keep my total credit utilization at around 1-2% usually so carrying a balance for a phone isn't that big of a deal.

Personally I don't like to pay my phone off faster than the carriers allow. I have zero desire to pay on a phone for 36 months and then jump through a hoop to get them to release the carrier lock after I have paid it off. I traded her 11 Pro max in and got $475.00 credit towards my new 14 Pro max so I only had to finance $619.00 total. Which would have been more had I traded in closer to launch.. I think Initially Apple was giving $525.00 trade in for the same 11 Pro max. I ended up buying my phone in December as a gift to myself and by that time trade in went down by $50.00.

When using the AC financing trade in value is where it's at as far as I am concerned. Carriers allow you to see your trade in value as statement credits over 3 years.. I prefer to have my trade in immediately impact my current purchase so I can pay it off as I please. Rather than being forced into paying on something for at least 2 years before it's paid down enough to be able be traded in. I owe $619 after trade in tax and first payment of $25.00. I will pay them $150.00ish a month for the next 4 months and the phone is mine and I didn't pay a cent in interest or finance charges. I have used cash back from AC and my other main visa card to pay for Applecare+ for the last few years as well.

I love using 0% to pay off big ticket items.. I don't have to hurt myself up front with cash and paying in full during the 0% period helps me avoid any interest. Some folks don't have the discipline to pay balances off within the 0% time frame and end up owing a bunch of unnecessary interest so the way I do things may not work for everyone.

Mobile carriers sell more iPhones than Apple retail stores

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