Chinese Consumers Cite Pricing as Concern for Apple’s iPhone
China, the world’s largest mobile market, remains an untapped market for the new Apple (AAPL) 3G iPhone. On June 9, Apple announced a 3G iPhone retailing for $199 at its worldwide developers conference, half the price of its $499 original iPhone model.
China could be a significant market for Apple with its 565 million mobile phone users and trend-conscious consumers. The iPhone has not been officially released in mainland China, but can be found on store shelves through gray imports.
In April, we at Pearl Research released a study detailing Chinese consumer purchase intent for Apple’s iPhone. Key findings include that approximately 68% of our sample had heard of the iPhone. In our interviews, females were more likely to cite “trendiness” and “design” as a key factor in wanting to purchase an iPhone while males cited “utility” as the chief reason.
The high price tag of $500 or more was the most mentioned reason for disinterest in purchasing an iPhone along with Apple’s inexperience in mobile phones. The iPhone’s high profile has spawned Chinese copycats that duplicate iPhone’s features at a fraction of the price, retailing for $200 to $300.
With the announcement of a lower-priced iPhone at $199, Pearl Research believes one of the barriers to consumer uptake in China, the original high price, is minimized. For more information about the study, please contact Pearl Research.
In an interview with CNBC, Apple hinted that the phone might be available officially in China later this year.
Tags: 3G, Apple, imports, iPhone, mobile