The golden age of the iPhone seems to be beginning to change course. At least, as regards the distinction of users who buy an applephone for the first time. The latest high-end model has been enjoying good sales support during its first weeks of release, but among those that are made with one of these terminals, those that are released on Apple telephony are fewer than on previous occasions. And the trend could get worse. So, at least, they believe it from Sanford Bernstein. This consultancy has produced a report signed by one of its analysts, Toni Sacconaghi, where it is argued that the number of buyers who buy iPhone without having had any of the previous editions is falling.
Specifically, they point out that last year 62 percent of all customers who purchased an iPhone had never used one of Apple's mobiles. However, this year, in our history of the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S "" a short time, by the way, although the data is completed with the sales of the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 "" the percentage has fallen up to 54 percent.
It is still a good figure for those from Cupertino, who on the one hand show that they continue to have a pull for neophytes and on the other they maintain their policy of loyalty to users who already know their products. However, things could get worse. Next year, Sacconaghi predicts in his study, only 37 percent of the iPhones that are sold will reach the hands of a customer who has never owned a home terminal, while in 2015 the distribution for this segment will drop to 28 percent.
In spite of everything, as we say, the reading that emerges from this can be approached from the perspective of loyalty, since the volume of users who choose to renew their old iPhone for a more recent batch model will grow year by year. The key to drawing more precise conclusions would be in the number of units sold. If it grows from year to year, the satisfaction of Apple customers with each new iPhone would be deducted, ignoring the possibility of trying their luck with the smartphones of the competition. But if they remain or even fall compared to the rest of the manufacturers, those of Cupertino would incur a worrying stagnation that nothing suits them.
Along these lines, the Sanford Bernstein report also reflects with estimates that point to the distribution from the operators. In 2010, more than half of iPhone buyers accessed the device through a phone. However, Apple has managed to tame customers, who already opt for free terminal channels "" its chain of Apple Store stores has been an important tool in this regard "", and in 2011 they turned the trend around, displacing the operators to fifteen percent as a source of commercialization of their telephones. In 2012phone companies' physical and online stores only accounted for eight percent of total iPhone sales, and according to this study, 2013 is expected to close with a minimum of three percent.
