It goes without saying that Apple has a strong hold over the U.S. smartphone market. Back in 2007 the company released its first smartphone and since then it has been strong in the global smartphone market, while enjoying a strong footing on its home turf. According to a survey conducted by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, Apple’s brick and mortar retail stores now account for 11 percent of all retail cellphone sales in the U.S. Its an impressive feat no doubt, given that Apple only sells the iPhone through its retail stores, it doesn’t sell any other brand’s smartphones.
The figure includes both smartphones and feature phones. On the other hand, Best Buy accounts for 13 percent of all retail cellphone sales in the U.S. One should keep in mind though that this retailer sells devices from a wide variety of manufacturers, including Apple. Retailers such as Target, Walmart and Costco collectively account for 12 percent of all sales in the U.S, almost equal to what Apple and Best Buy individually account for. As far as iPhone sales are concerned, Apple only accounts for a quarter of iPhone sales, the rest are through carries such as AT&T and Verizon which generate 21 percent and 18 percent of the sales respectively. Sprint, Amazon and other retailers generate five percent each whereas Best Buy generates around 13 percent of the total iPhone sales in the U.S.