In sharp contrast to the overwhelming abuse of the iPhone 15 on the Internet, Chinese people are eager to buy the iPhone 15. The flash sale of the well-known food delivery platform Meituan released the first-day sales data of the iPhone 15. The data shows that the sales of the iPhone 15 in first-tier cities increased by 10 times. iPhone 15 sales in first-tier cities increased 23 times.
This data from Meituan’s flash sale shows that consumers in first-tier cities still highly recognize the iPhone. As a result, this year’s launch of iPhone 15 not only caused queues to buy at offline retail stores, but also the errand business of food delivery platforms and e-commerce companies was also affected by the iPhone 15. The business volume has increased sharply due to the hot sales.
Another surprising piece of information in this data is the high recognition of iPhone by consumers in third, fourth and fifth tier cities. Industry insiders pointed out that iPhone has the same strong position as Moutai in these cities and is a hard currency. Previous media reports have pointed out that in low-tier cities iPhones in first-tier cities have a strong circulation function. Second-hand mobile phone stores are willing to buy iPhones and offer higher prices. Some young people who have no money to use them take iPhones to mobile phone stores to exchange for money and then buy a cheaper domestic mobile phone.
For consumers in lower-tier cities, data such as technology actually has little impact on them. Parameter comparisons in big cities do not affect the purchase of iPhones by consumers in small cities. However, this year’s iPhone 15 has exploded in small cities. The growth shows that consumers in small cities still have a "cheap" image of domestic mobile phones, and only Apple still recognizes high-end mobile phones.
Compared with the overwhelming ridicule on the Internet that buying an iPhone represents a sign of superiority, consumers in small cities really regard iPhones as a status symbol. After all, the income levels in these cities are far less than those in big cities, and they can afford to buy iPhones. Affording the iPhone 15 is really beyond the reach of ordinary consumers.
From this data, it can be seen that the competition between domestic mobile phone brands and Apple still has a long way to go. Although domestic mobile phones have repeatedly emphasized their advantages in photography and performance, consumers’ perception of this is actually not strong. Consumers’ impression of the brand is not limited to the Internet. In addition to marketing, what is more important is word-of-mouth communication, which is precisely Apple's strength.
In the third, fourth and fifth tier cities, consumers used to choose domestic mobile phones with more cost-effective advantages. However, in the past two years, Apple has gained more recognition from high-end consumers in first-tier cities, pushing Apple's share of the domestic high-end mobile phone market to nearly Eighty percent, as this group of people switch to iPhone, their influence has now penetrated into third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities, leading to the explosive growth of iPhone 15 in small cities.
Industry insiders believe that Apple's ability to have such brand appeal lies in the foundation laid by Steve Jobs. Jobs has passed away for more than 10 years, even though his successors, Cook and others, are considered not up to par, and many geniuses from the Jobs era such as Foster and Allen... Wei and others have all left, but Apple can still stand in the high-end mobile phone market, which is a miracle.
This also shows that there is still a big gap between domestic mobile phone brands and Apple in terms of brand influence. They need to do more and gain more recognition from consumers in order to truly have the strength to compete with Apple in the high-end mobile phone market. They are just parameters. Comparison is not enough. Interestingly, a certain mobile phone company also gave up the marketing of parameter comparison last year, and decided to give up sending tests to the well-known camera evaluation software DXOMARK. It just hopes that domestic mobile phones will not become discouraged and fail to recover.
The explosion of iPhone 15 in third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities has shocked the industry, with a growth of more than 20 times. With Apple’s penetration in these cities, China will only become more consolidated as the largest market for iPhone. Such a huge market may have convinced Apple CEO Cook smiled from ear to ear, and Cook also expressed his gratitude to the Chinese market in a timely manner earlier, thanked Chinese employees for their efforts, and thanked Chinese consumers for their support.