Chicago — Apple’s flagship iPhone 5s outsold the lower-priced 5c by more than 2-to-1 in the two weeks following their late-September launch in the U.S., Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) found in polling recent iPhone buyers.
CIRP found that 65 percent of iPhone sales were 5s models, and 27 percent were 5c models. Nine percent were legacy 4S models.
The mid-priced iPhone 5c models nonetheless did better than the 4S did when it became Apple’s mid-price entry with the iPhone 5 launch in late September 2012, the company said. At that time, the re-priced iPhone 4S accounted for 23 percent of iPhone sales in the weeks following the iPhone 5 launch compared with 27 percent for the mid-priceD 5c after this year’s Apple launch (see table).
“Sales at the three different iPhone price points are similar between the two product launches,” said CIRP partner Mike Levin. “Apple did position the iPhone 5c as a new model, and it does allow previous iPhone owners to trade-up to a faster smartphone. Based on this initial analysis, over the coming months we would expect iPhone sales to follow the pattern of the year-ago launch.”
The percentages are based on CIRP’s survey of 500 consumers who purchased an iPhone in the U.S. in June through September, including the period following the iPhone 5s and 5c launch.
