Sprint's Share of iPhone Sales at Big Box Retailers Double That Seen at Apple Retail Stores

AllThingsD reports on an interesting survey from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) studying the balance of iPhone sales among the three major U.S. carriers at various points of sale such as Apple's retail stores, Best Buy, and warehouse clubs and mass market retailers.

The survey shows that AT&T remains the clear market leader for the iPhone in the United States, registering at 62% in aggregate and followed by Verizon at 26% and Sprint at just 12%. But the most interesting data pertains to the Sprint iPhone specifically, which represents just 9% of Apple retail store iPhone sales compared to 18-19% at other retailers.

cirp 2012 carrier retail share
The report suggests that legacy availability is the prime reason for the difference in popularity at the different sales outlets, with customers likely to return to their previous points of purchase when it comes time to buy new phones and remain loyal to their carriers. With Sprint being the newest entrant of the three when it comes to the iPhone, its customers tend to return to Best Buy and other long-time Sprint retailers to purchase an iPhone rather going to an Apple retail store.

In other words, if you bought an iPhone from Apple on AT&T or Verizon and you return to the store to buy another, you’re not likely to switch carriers. And since Apple Stores have sold only AT&T and Verizon iPhones for so long, Sprint’s seeing a bit less traction there than it is at retailers like Best Buy, where it has had a longer-term presence.

“Sprint is really suffering from being third to the dance,” CIRP partner Michael Levin told AllThingsD. “At the Apple Store and other carrier-agnostic retailers, there is still very little switching, and Sprint just doesn’t have enough existing customers walking through the door. … AT&T’s installed base of iPhone customers and Verizon’s huge, satisfied customer base are proving a barrier to Sprint growing its market share.”

Beyond the three major carriers, Apple has also been expanding its reach by bringing the iPhone to a number of smaller regional and super-regional carriers, and most recently began an expansion into the U.S. prepaid market with Cricket last week and Virgin Mobile USA later this week.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...

Top Rated Comments

jav6454 Avatar
167 months ago
So much hype and fanfare when Verizon got the iPhone. I remember those threads, "AT&Ts death".

Yet surprisingly AT&T is doing just fine and beating two carriers. Seems to show that the vocal ones were just a minority. If AT&T would be problem ridden as we were led to believe, there would be mass exodus. Something that has yet to be seen.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BMNB1tch Avatar
167 months ago
not surprising

there are more big box retailers in rural areas than apple stores
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kyjaotkb Avatar
167 months ago
Just proves nobody wants to be on Sprint's garbage network. Laughing at anyone who is on Sprint because they offer "unlimited data"

Stupid people

take the chill pill buddy... judging people as "stupid" on the basis of their carrier's reliability is... not very clever, is it ?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleFan73 Avatar
167 months ago
It shouldn't matter which carrier is better. As long has the carrier you picked is working for you, thats what counts. :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mattie Num Nums Avatar
167 months ago
Just upgraded my EVO4G to a 4S.

I am happy with Sprint.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
barkomatic Avatar
167 months ago
If Sprint gets its LTE network out the door and maintains true unlimited data, then I might be tempted to leave my faux AT&T unlimited data plan behind.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)