Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the threat of Trump tariffs didn’t lead to “panic buying” of devices such as the iPhone. However, the folks at a Consumer Intelligence Research Partners beg to differ.
In a new report, CIRP says that tariff fears did encourage long-awaited iPhone upgrades. The research group says that holding periods between iPhone purchases have grown longer, basically since the end of two-year carrier subsidized phone purchase contracts.
That continued as smartphones became more durable, and battery longevity improved. CIRP’s latest survey shows the threat of tariff-induced price increases “really moved the needle.”
The percentage of US iPhone buyers who retired phones they had three years or longer surged from its consistent 30% level to 39% in the January-March period this year. CIRP thinks this is probably due to tariff anxiety.
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