That is story told by a just released NPD Study, which states that more than half of all Americans with an income of $60,000 or more choose the iPhone. Notch up the income to $100,000 and iPhone ownership goes up, as well.
NPD adds that while the US smartphone market grew by 21 percent in 2013. Of that, most of the growth was in the low-end of the market, selling into the sub-$30,000 income group.
“With the fastest growing segments of the industry in the lowest income demographics, both Apple and Samsung face challenges in 2014,” said Stephen Baker, vice president, industry analysis, NPD. “For Samsung this demographic is likely to be the most competitive segment of the market in 2014 and they have a very high dependency on sales here. Apple has the opposite problem of gaining share in the fast growing entry-level market while still maintaining its position as the dominant supplier to affluent consumers.”
NPD Group thinks this situation presents problems for Apple, which seems odd to me. Why? Because Apple doesn’t want let alone low-income smartphone buyers. Apple doesn’t need to grow its volume in the US.
Love iPhone? You’re Not Alone
Did we really need an NPD Group survey to tell us that rich people love iPhone? Naw, it’s been known for years that Apple users of all kinds are better educated and make more money.
While it would be easy to snark that Apple and the iPhone are elitist, perhaps the smarter way to think about is here’s a product that you can probably afford that educated, well-paid individuals prefer — rich people love iPhone.
Elitist or just smart? It’s the status symbol that just works…
What’s your take?
Via AppleInsider