While Apple has yet to officially announce how many Apple Watches it has sold to date, market research firm Slice has calculated that Apple has sold about 2.79 million of them as of mid-June.
Slice uses e-mail receipt data from some 2 million online shoppers in the U.S. to make its analysis. In this case, it found that more than 20,000 people had bought an Apple Watch. It also found that nearly 20% of them also bought at least one additional band from Apple.
As profitable as the Apple Watch is rumoured to be, it appears that Apple is generating significant revenues and profits with accessories as well. According to IHS, a technology research firm, the 38mm entry-level sports watch band that Apple sells for US$49 only costs US$2.05 to manufacture. Even when additional costs for packaging, shipping and such are factored in, Apple still stands to make a tidy profit on the sale of each.
According to Kanishka Agarwal, Slice’s chief data officer, “People are trying to get two watches in one,” by accessorizing with multiple bands.
Accessory makers can also offer bands to allow customers to further customize their Apple Watch, In fact, Apple recently launched its “Made for Apple Watch” program specifically geared at third-party watch bands.
It remains to be seen if Apple will provide Apple Watch sales figures when it next announces financial results.
Source : Reuters