Are you already packing up your overnight bag and preparing to stake out the line at your nearest Apple Store to get your hands on the Apple Watch? If so, you’re in an exclusive group. According to a poll conducted by Reuters and Ipsos, about six percent of American adults plan on purchasing the Apple Watch.
Should all six percent make the purchase, that would generate 15 million Apple Watch sales in America alone.
Six percent might not sound like much, but given how tepid smartwatch sales have been so far for every other company that has entered the market, it’s a huge mark. Should all six percent make the purchase — and it’s worth noting that the poll has a margin of error of 2.6 percent — that would generate 15 million Apple Watch sales in America alone.
The current high water mark for smartwatch sales is Samsung’s Galaxy Gear series, sitting at around 1.2 million units sold. Estimates for the smartwatch market place sales at 6.8 million units in total. That’s every brand combined. Obviously 15 million would blow that figure away — and possibly kickstart sales for competitors, as Apple’s success often does.
Wall Street projections expect sales at between 10 million and 32 million for the 2015 fiscal year. Even at the lower end, it would be a huge success in the wearables market — especially for a watch carrying a price tag of anywhere between $350 and $17,000.
The Reuters poll also found that men were about twice as likely to buy the watch as women. Around 9 percent of men expressed interest in the new Apple product, while only 4 percent of women shared the enthusiasm. This may mark a trend when it comes to wearables —the designs often appeal more to men, even if the devices are not exclusively marketed to them.
The bracket of the population most likely to fall under the allure of Apple’s luster were men aged 18-28. They registered the highest interest level (34 percent) and gave the Watch the highest “cool factor” rating, at 53 percent. The overall survey scored the watch at 42 percent in “cool factor.”
Still, just 10 percent of those in the 18-29 age range said they were purchasing the smartwatch. It’s those of the next decade, 30-39 year olds, who were most likely to buy the watch. They registered at 13 percent planning to make the purchase.
Interestingly, only about one-third of those surveyed owned an iPhone. Those already engulfed in Apple’s ecosystem were more eager to make the jump, with 15 percent of iPhone owners planning to pick up the Apple Watch to go along with it.
Early reviews of the Apple Watch indicate that it won’t disappoint early adopters, though it still doesn’t reach the level of must-have accessory. Unless you’re just looking to join the few who brave the early adoption rush, you’ll probably be fine waiting it out with the other 94 precent of the country.
