iPhone Cases May Be Partly Responsible For Poor 5c Sales [Analyst]

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The successor to the iPhone 5c is nearly here.
The successor to the iPhone 5c is nearly here.
Photo: Apple

Are people not buying the iPhone 5c because its colorful exterior selling point is rendered useless by the fact that most people keep their iPhones in cases?

That’s one of two theories put forward by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who is the latest person to suggest that the iPhone 5c isn’t doing too well in the marketplace.

According to 1,003 consumers polled last week by Munster, just 6% of smartphone buyers plan to pick up an iPhone 5c — down from 9% in December.

Munster puts forward the following reasons:

“First, we believe there is a significant value increase in purchasing the 5s (Touch ID, A7 chip) vs the 5c and consumers recognize this as well,” he said. “Second, we believe that the concept around colors as a unique selling point has not worked as well as it had with iPods because a significant number of smartphone users cover their smartphones with cases, which was typically not the trend for iPod owners.”

But if the iPhone 5c is doing badly, the 5s is doing much better. According to the same survey, 33% of those individuals who plan to buy a smartphone expect to pick up an iPhone 5s. This percentage is down from the the 35% who had their eyes on a 5s in December, and the 38% who planned to get the new model after its debut in September.

“The main takeaway from our most recent smartphone purchase intent survey is that the iPhone 5s seems to have staying power,” Munster said. “We believe this is an indication that Apple’s position as top player in the high end smartphone market remains secure; however, the downside is that the US smartphone market is rather mature, which is implied in Apple’s guidance.”

Overall, 39% of smartphone shoppers said they planned to purchase some model of iPhone in general, compared with 44% in December, and 50% in September.

Munster predicts that Apple will sell 37.5 million iPhones during the current quarter — a shade more than the 37.4 million sold over the same quarter last year.

Source: Cnet

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