Apple now represents about a fifth of all technology sales in the US, new NPD data showed Monday. By the end of 2011, 19 percent of revenue in the US was related to an Apple product. The company was now the top company selling technology in the US, topping HP, Samsung, Sony, and Dell even when the others could include their sales from all categories.
The iPhone designer was also the only one of out of the top five to be gaining in 2011 and, throughout the whole year, saw its revenue jump 36 percent. HP and Samsung saw single-digit declines, but Sony and Dell were falling fast with 21- and 17-point respective drops. Apple had almost twice as much the sales as HP, researchers said.
Industry analysis VP Stephen Baker pinned the shift to Apple’s capturing new categories while others were clinging to old ones. Although traditional PCs, TVs, and video game consoles were seeing less spending, tablets and smartphones were both up and played to Apple’s core strengths. Apple still has the majority of tablet sales and was key to getting achieving $15 billion in tablet revenue last year.
Among both physical and online retailers, positions remained unchanged from 2010 and saw Best Buy and Walmart in front of Apple, which was behind Staples and Amazon. In-person sales were down 2.5 points and, even with an increase in online sales at the generic chains, were posing “serious challenges” this year. Stores that still lean heavily on TVs and PCs, like Best Buy, were most likely to take the hit.
