Members of the technorati elite politburo are near-sighted and have difficulty understanding multiple layers of numbers.
You’d think that over the past 35 years or so that spreadsheets would be in use among the literate illiterate that make up much of the tech writing community, but, alas, sometimes a little deep thinking is in order. Numbers often beget theories, so let’s try one out.
Lies, Damned Lies, Statistics
On one hand, Apple’s Mac fails because it has barely 10-percent of the PC industry’s market share. On the other hand, the Mac succeeds because it owns about 50-percent of the entire industry’s profit share.
On one hand, Apple’s iPhone fails because it has less than 20-percent of the smartphone industry’s market share. On the other hand, the iPhone succeeds because it owns more than 80-percent of the entire industry’s profit share.
On one hand, Apple’s iPad fails because it has less than 25-percent of the tablet industry’s market share. On the other hand, the iPad succeeds because it owns more of the industry’s profit share than all other manufacturers combined, and, an important differentiation– the iPad has about 75-percent of the tablet industry’s customer usage.
Whoa. Does that mean Mac and iPhone are used more than competing PCs and Android smartphones? Usage statistics for that line item don’t seem to exist, but we can extrapolate other numbers and reach a conclusion.
The Ayden Mobile Payments Index (MPI), which tracks mobile payments online, says iPhone and iPad combined take over 64-percent of all browser-based online transactions worldwide. MPI doesn’t track app-based purchases, but it’s well know that iOS device users buy more online than their Android-based brethren.
The question is, ‘Why?’ Why do Apple’s customers account for a disproportionate number?
Again, statistics point to the obvious, but require looking beyond The Church of Market Share to obtain a qualified answer and a more accurate perspective. Think usage and usability. Apple makes online purchases easier than most competitors. Apple’s platforms, OS X and iOS, are trusted more, therefore, ipso facto, and Voila! More money gets spent on Apple devices than competing platforms.
That model is translated into usage as well. iPhone and iPad customers use their devices more. Why? How about that sweet combo of usability and trust where one seems to beget the other? In other words, Apple’s customers get more from their devices than do Microsoft and Google’s customers.
