Apple’s retail stores hold a 66 percent market share for computers purchased in stores and priced over $1,000, according to an industry analyst, sparking discussion among stock traders and financial experts about what the figure really means. According to the NPD Group Inc., during the first quarter of 2008 Apple held a 13.8 percent share of computers purchased at brick-and-mortar stores in the United States, an increase from 9.5 percent in the same quarter of 2007. But when retail sales figures were analyzed by computer price, the Apple stores gathered a huge two-thirds share of sales. Analysts point out that Apple’s computer line-up includes just one model less than $1,000, the Mac mini. They also note the implications of the 66 percent figure for other brick-and-mortar retailers: there are few large computer retailers beyond Best Buy, and the product line-up of other retailers focuses on very low-priced models.NPD also reported that Apple’s retail store share of desktops during the first quarter was 14.4 percent, up from 8.1 percent in Q1 2007. Apple retail held a 13.6 percent share of laptops in the quarter, up from 10.4 percent in Q1 2007.
For computers priced at $1,000 and above, Apple’s desktop and portable market share is 70 percent and 64 percent respectively.
NPD analyst Stephen Baker explained the figures might seem positive. However, they also indicate that Apple is not competitive in the sub-$1,000 market.
Worldwide, Apple has a 6.6 percent market share, according to Gartner Inc., behind Dell, H-P and Acer.
In the following graphic there are two key figures missing: the percentage of worldwide computer sales made in retail stores, and percentage of all U.S. retail computer sales that involve a computer costing $1,000 or more. Without these two figures, meaningful comparisons are impossible.
