Early signs suggest that early Apple Watch pre-orders were stronger than some analysts predicted. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster had expected that first day pre-orders would hit about 300,000. Slice Intelligence suggests that they were about three times stronger than that and hit nearly a million pre-orders in the U.S. alone.
The report estimates that 957,000 people in the U.S. pre-ordered an Apple Watch on Friday. Using e-receipt data, it found that buyers ordered 1.3 watches and spent US$503.83 (about CA$630) on average.
Unsurprisingly, the Apple Watch Sport, the cheapest of the three models, was the most popular model, accounting for 62% of orders. 71% of buyers went for the larger 42mm model.
As for colours, the most popular type of case was the Space Gray aluminum case. It accounted for 40% of pre-orders, followed by the stainless steel model at 34% and silver aluminum at 23%. The Space Black stainless steel accounted for a mere 3% of pre-orders.
On the band side of things, black was the most popular colour for both the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport. It accounted for 49% of orders with the White Sport Band following at 16% and Milanese Loop at 10%.
As expected, many Apple Watch buyers are loyal Apple customers. Some 11% already own both an iPhone and iPad. 21% of them pre-ordered an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus within the last few months as well.
Apple has yet to make an official statement on how the first weekend of pre-orders fared but these numbers suggest that Apple has another hit product on its hands.
Meawhile, Apple Watch shipping estimates quickly slid into the summer months, suggesting limited availability, strong demand, or more likely a combination of both.
Sources : Slice Intelligence // Apple Insider