According to a recent report from market research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Apple’s iPhone has edged out Android’s share in the U.S smartphone marketplace. The research study found that iPhones currently hold a 48.1% share of U.S smartphone sales, while Android holds a 46.7% share. Kantar attributed Apple’s increase in share, in large part, to a swell in iPhone 5 sales in recent weeks, including the start of the lucrative holiday shopping season.
With the busiest shopping days of the year encouraging an uptick in electronic purchases, Chitika Insights conducted a study to examine the impact of Black Friday on overall iOS and Android Web traffic volume.
The study was conducted by taking a sample of hundreds of millions of impressions from the Chitika ad network over the course of a week, covering the days leading up to and following Black Friday. We analyzed these impressions to determine iOS’ share compared to Android’s, along with other mobile operating systems.
Looking at the overall market share of mobile devices provides a perspective on the shopping holiday’s terms of longer-term impact. Examining the market share of all mobile devices, iOS’ usage share change relative to the market was negligible. iOS gains a brief, small jump in market share in the days surrounding Black Friday, but then it returns to the levels it saw before the holiday. Given that Black Friday resulted in positive sales for Android, Windows Phone, and others, any boost in volume may have been mitigated overall through gains by competitors.
Regardless, it seems that at the present time a sea change in the overall usage makeup of the North American mobile Internet is not apparent. Additionally, as most devices bought were presumably for holiday gifts, the usage share changes as those holidays wrap up are likely to provide the true “winner” of the season when it comes to mobile devices.
3 comments