CIRP: Consumers Are Primed for Apple Hardware Subscriptions

29 MARCH 2022 - Morgan Stanley’s Huberty isn’t the only one buying the idea of people renting iPhones. The folks at Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) say consumers are halfway down that road already. According to a survey run last December, almost half of Apple customers quizzed in the U.S. “already finance their iPhone purchase, two-thirds use paid iCloud storage, and almost half subscribe to the Apple Music streaming service.” In short - they are primed. That said, not unlike Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, CIRP partner Josh Lowitz thinks Apple will need to sweeten the deal. Quoting the Research Partners partner:

The most successful subscription services provide new or otherwise unavailable benefits. Amazon Prime delivery is distinct from other delivery options. Costco shopping and Netflix and other streaming video services are only available with a subscription. The challenge for Apple is to create a new subscription service that provides unique value to its customers.