Best Buy selling almost as many iPhones as Apple… with four times as many stores

A new report from AllThingsD citied a study from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners that gives a breakdown of iPhone percentages sold through each retailer, including Apple and the carriers. The survey targeted iPhone buyers over a three-month period from December 2011 to February 2012 and found approximately 76 percent of iPhones were sold through brick-and-mortar stores. The other 24 percent of iPhones were purchased online. Those numbers obviously shift with a high number of preorders during product launches. The report noted the iPhone 4S’ s launch saw 67 percent sales conducted online, while only 33 percent were in-store.

The full breakdown for each retailer (in the United States) not surprisingly shows the carriers clearly dominate iPhone sales: AT&T captured 32 percent, Verizon came in at 30 percent, and Sprint with 7 percent. AllThingsD said Best Buy came out on top among retailers—other than Apple and the carriers—with 13 percent of sales compared to Apple’s 15 percent. Reports are quick to mention Best Buy is selling almost as many iPhones as Apple, but it is worth noting Best Buy has four times as many stores…

Best Buy sells Apple products through more than 1,100 stores (600 have Apple store-in-store setups) worldwide. Moreover, Best Buy has over 600 locations in the U.S., compared to Apple’s 362 retail stores globally. CIRP’s Josh Lowitz talked about the study with AllThings D:

“Apple Stores and the Apple Web site are tremendously productive, but they are limited by their relatively small retail footprint. There are four times as many Best Buy stores, and probably 20 times as many AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint stores, so aggressive distribution through all these channels is critical to Apple’s U.S. strategy.”

The last three percent of sales, according to the survey, represented the “Other” category, which consisted of Walmart, Radio Shack, and those who received their device as a gift.

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