14 DAY TRIAL // Market research firm NPD Group has put out a report according to which the iPhone 6 launch has generated a huge uptick in profits for accessory makers, much higher than in previous years.
According to the firm, accessory sales in the two weeks since the iPhone 6 was launched generated a whopping $249 million / €197 million, a 43 percent increase from their normal activity (prior to launch).
NPD’s numbers
Compared to previous years, when the same post-launch period generated only $195 million / €154 million in sales, the growth is indeed substantial.
Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at The NPD Group, is quoted as saying, “New iPhone form factors always provide a short-term boost to traffic and volume to the consumer electronics market, but it's the accessory purchases that keep the momentum going. Case sales specifically, and accessory sales in general, remain an excellent proxy in measuring the long-term demand for a phone.”
Baker adds, “The new iPhone releases, and the subsequent mobile accessory purchases that result from them, are one of the key opportunities helping to set the stage for a strong fourth quarter and holiday season.”
Why is demand on the rise?
It really doesn’t take a degree to assess the situation at large. iPhone demand is constantly on the rise, and therefore anything that goes with the iPhone will also see an uptick in sales. That includes not only accessories like headphones, speakers, cases, and screen protectors, but also apps, music, cellular contracts, and so on.
In short, the iPhone (much like other popular smartphones out there) is a huge cash cow not just for Apple, but also for everyone making a business around supporting it.
Bendgate could also be responsible
We hate to bring it up again, but it’s quite plausible to imagine that at least a small percentage of the iPhone 6 cases sold were bought to protect the device from scratches, dings, cracks, but also bending.
While the media continues to cite Apple’s 9-reported-cases from a week ago, Softpedia has unearthed new evidence that the number of bent iPhone 6 devices in the wild is far greater. The number is still small enough to make it a non-issue, but things aren’t quite as simple as we had initially thought.
Let’s try and shed more light on this by chipping in with a comment. Who here has bought an accessory for their iPhone 6 and why?