iPhone Buyers Increasingly Come From Within Apple's Ecosystem [Report]

A new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) analyzes phone purchasing patterns for iPhone 5s, 5c buyers after the September 20, 2013 launch of the new smartphones. They found that iPhone buyers are increasingly coming from within the Apple ecosystem.

Almost two-thirds of these buyers previously owned an iPhone, compared to 55% of buyers at the launch of the iPhone 5 on September 21, 2012.

“Ideally, Apple attracts a significant percent of its customers from Android and other systems,” said Mike Levin, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. “At the most recent launch, though, Apple saw an increase in the share of customers that already had an iPhone. Perhaps because of the declining base of non-smartphone owners, a smaller percentage of iPhone buyers upgraded from a basic or flip phone, compared to the year-ago launch.”


In addition, a smaller percentage upgraded from the most recent flagship phone.

“We see a noticeable decrease in the number of iPhone buyers that seem to want the latest, most advanced phone,” said Josh Lowitz, Partner and Co-Founder of CiRP. “For the iPhone 5S/5C, 6% of buyers upgraded from the year-old iPhone 5. In contrast, at the launch of the iPhone 5 in September 2012, 12% of customers upgraded from the year-old iPhone 4S.”

Within the two-thirds of iPhone buyers that upgraded from an existing iPhone in September and October 2013, fewer upgraded from the year-old iPhone 5, relative to the 55% of iPhone 5 buyers in September and October 2012 that upgraded from the year-old iPhone 4S.

CIRP based its findings on a survey of 400 phone customers that activated an iPhone
in the US in after the launch on September 20, 2013.


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