Apple just announced its third straight year of record App Store sales. Those attempting to survive the current environment must consider what this might mean.
Apple just announced its third straight year of record App Store sales. Enterprises attempting to survive the current environment must now think deeply on what this might mean for their business. Apple’s statistics reflect the socially distanced global business environment. This is also reflected in Apple’s Mobility Trends report, which shows a decline in routing requests through Maps in most locations. With millions of iPhones, iPads and Macs sold across the period (we’ll learn more on this during the company’s forthcoming fiscal call later this month), millions of consumers went online. U.S. online retail spending rose 49% between October and Christmas Eve, according to Mastercard Spending Pulse. Apple is likely to have seen some activity in online sales, given Apple Pay can also be used online. The need for social distance is also boosting acceptance of Apple Pay at retail. You can now use your iPhone as a wallet at 90% of stores in the U.S.,85% of UK stores and 99% of those in Australia. Interestingly, the trend toward online purchasing has seen a wave of bankrupt high street retailers being acquired as investors see if they can pivot them into becoming online retail brands. Enterprises with local, national or international brand identities may find they can make similar pivots – even professional personal services may find a way to re-present themselves to core markets more effectively online. Local SEO and community outreach on a local and national basis should be part of this attempt. App Store sales also showed a cultural shift. Naturally, games sales took the biggest chunk of App Store business, but not all of it. The last three years of App Store sales during the period tend to expose this: Dollars spent on digital goods and services at the Apple App Store between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve: New Year’s Day is traditionally one of the biggest app store sales days of the year.
