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So Who's Buying? (9/16/98)
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For numbers and comments about iMac sales, there's only one true source: ComputerWare, the Mac-only chain of retailers who have been supplying the media with a steady stream of information since day one. They were the ones who not only disclosed actual numbers about how many iMacs they sold during the introductory weekend (thanks for nothing, CompUSA!), they also conducted an "exit poll" of the first 500 buyers to try to extract some interesting demographic information about who was buying those systems. Well, ComputerWare's got more information ready-- final sales numbers for August, and updated poll results based on a greater sample of the responses.
According to MacCentral, ComputerWare's final sales figures are pretty impressive; 2,002 Macintosh systems sold during the entire month of August, of which 1,240 were iMacs. Pretty heavy numbers for a ten-store chain. In contrast, ComputerWare only sold 650 Macs in August of last year, indicating some pretty healthy growth in the Mac market. What we find particularly intriguing is that the iMac, while selling very well, is actually spurring sales of higher-end Power Mac G3's, too. ComputerWare's veep of retail sales and products states that unit sales of Power Mac systems increased by "just over 20%" from a year ago.
And remember how the iMac passed the "Dad Test?" That's apparently a big factor in the iMac's success; of ComputerWare's first 500 iMac buyers, 39% said that simplicity was a "critical" factor in their buying decision. Also, 28% of family members who would be using those iMacs are 50 or older. The iMac apparently has Boomer appeal. These are important points-- more and more, we're seeing that the iMac is perceived as a computer so simple to use, people who previously would never consider trying to use a computer are running out and buying them. After all, wasn't that the original promise of the "computer for the rest of us?"
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SceneLink (1018)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 9/16/98 episode: September 16, 1998: On a very special AtAT, the cast says goodbye to a departing friend: Artemis, we hardly knew ye. Meanwhile, yet more numbers and insight into iMac sales have materialized, thanks to ComputerWare, and MacWEEK heaps on a big, gooey slice of Apple Recon...
Other scenes from that episode: 1017: Farewell, Toothsome Pal (9/16/98) It's time to mourn the passing of another Macintosh. No one's talking on the record, but all the signs say that the G3 All-in-one (the computer formerly known as Artemis) has been retired. Multiple sources indicate that Apple has dropped the big goofy-looking thing from its educational pricelists, citing that the iMac essentially vies for the same market-- students who want a cool, powerful, and inexpensive computer for the dorm, as well as educational institutions who want small, powerful, and easy-to-network computers for the lab... 1019: The MacWEEKing of Recon (9/16/98) Get ready for them sparks to go a-flyin'; Robert Morgan (the man behind the infamous Apple Recon) is now a contributing editor for MacWEEK. So we no longer need to trek all the way over to Apple Recon to read rampant speculation about factors affecting Apple's stock; a handy digest version is available at your local MacWEEK.com. Morgan doesn't pull any punches in his first RFI Report...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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