Apple Smackdown: Mac Users Are Richer, 'Cooler', Study Finds

Steve is healthy, the Tablet looks sharp, and everyone's pleased with the latest Nanos.

Hot off the press from consumer-research firm NPD is just a little bit more good news for Apple: not only are Mac users richer than the average computer user and buy more tech goods, but they're 'hipper,' too.

The study concludes, "Apple household owners' actions and purchases can be used by the industry as leading indicators for hot new products and adoption." Zing.

Mac market share is also going up.

The NPD study found that approximately 12 percent of all computer-owning households in the US have an Apple computer, up 4 percent from 2008. Interestingly, although Apple ownership is growing, the vast majority of those Apple-buying households (85 percent) also own a Windows-based PC.

More stats from the study:

Thirty-six percent of Apple computer owners reported household incomes greater than $100,000, compared to 21 percent of all consumers.

The average Apple household owns 48 CE [consumer electronic] devices whereas the average computer household owns about 24.

66 percent of households owning three or more computers, compared to just 29 percent of Windows PC households.

Apple owning households are decidedly more mobile as well, with 72 percent of them owning a notebook, whereas only 50 percent of households that have a Windows PC own a notebook.

Not only do Apple computer owners own more computers (and more mobile computers) than the norm they also tend to own more types of electronics, and more of them, than typical computer owning households. For example, while 36 percent of total computer owning households have an iPod, 63 percent of Apple households have one. And while almost 50 percent of Apple owners own some type of navigation system, only about 30 percent of all computer households own one.

See the graph of NPD's findings below:

Comments

[Kremfresch]

05:34 PM on 10/07/2009

Ima stick with my PCJR.128k BABY!!

[Kremfresch]

05:14 PM on 10/07/2009

What a bombshell!! You mean to tell me that the customers of the most expensive computer are richer???!!! That's like pointing out that people that buy Mercedes Benz's have more money than Chevrolet drivers.

[CptKendrick]

04:49 PM on 10/07/2009

Macs may be more expensive in the short-term, but of all my friends and family who have griped to me about all the money they've spent on their PC for additional software (anti-Virus, anti-Spyware, $300+ Office, etc., etc.)
+ money they've dropped down to get support
+ money they've spent to either upgrade or replace their desktop/laptop less than a year later because they got disgusted with what they have and all the problems it caused them....

....it's probably a wash. I've had the same MacBook Pro now for 3 years and have spent maybe an extra $60 for a game. That's it.

[Dante in Madison]

02:36 PM on 10/07/2009

I know a LOT of MAC owners and believe me--none of them are rich (nor are their parents, for that matter).

Further, not a single one of them looks like that carbon-copy "I just walked out of the Gap" guy that does the Apple commercials (why did they pick somebody who looks so generic and cookie-cutter-like?).

I'd kill to see what criteria they used to determine that MAC owners are "hipper." I wonder how they crunched that stat (Number of Starbucks Lattes purchased in a year divided by Number of Tweets, carry the 1...).

This is genuinely one of the most ridiculous " reports on a "study" that I've read about in ages.

[dotcom]

01:55 PM on 10/07/2009

Well, I'm a Mac owner, but don't fit this profile of an Apple user. Am not rich, hip or own lots of electronics.
Bought my IMac last April & it's a desktop with a 17" monitor. I like it because everything's pretty much built in & I don't have cords trailing all over & behind the computer desk.

Yes, the Macs are more expensive, but are simpler to use than a pc. The extra money for the Mac has been worth it.

Oh, and I no longer have my old pc.

[Fabini]

08:08 AM on 10/07/2009

. . . and I'm tall, handsome, and intelligent too. I don't participate in polls because I skew data off the charts. Computers? I only operate in binary, 001101001010010001000100111110010101010

[Name Not In Use]

10:41 PM on 10/06/2009

Let's see ...

A MacBook Pro with a 3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 8G of memory costs:

$3,799.00

If we looked at the data for all of the people who paid $3,799.00 for a Windows/PC laptop I wonder what their average household income would be? I wonder how many computers would be in the household?

Etc.

[TheSecularist]

08:45 AM on 10/07/2009

Most Apple laptop buyers get either the 13" Macbook $999, the 13" MacBook Pro $1199 or $1499, or the 15", 2.53GHz MacBook Pro $1699. Apple offers a wide variety of configurations priced from $999 to $2499 for the 17-inch model. If you want a desktop (configured with everything you need), there are the iMacs: $1199 to $2199. With additional RAM, faster processors, larger hard drives, and more video RAM, the prices goes up. But typical computer buyers don't need those options because the standard configurations of Macs are functional. Meaning, you don't need to pay extra. Macs have the highest quality construction and the best operating system.

[Thucydides Jr.]

11:24 AM on 10/07/2009

I believe the kids say "PWNED!"

[Kremfresch]

05:29 PM on 10/07/2009

wow... 13"?? AWESOME!!!

[GoDogGo]

06:45 PM on 10/06/2009

The key to interpreting this is recognizing that there's no CAUSAL relation between mac ownership and these results. Most measures such as household income REFLECT the higher cost of Macs, not what they do for your income.

That said, studies consistently show that people who are more comfortable with technology and adopt new devices sooner DO tend to move up more quickly and adapt better within organizations. Mac users, due to income, education or attitude, tend to reflect this.

[mcamp52]

12:48 PM on 10/06/2009

Hey, you get what you pay for. Apple costs more, does more, works all the time, does the things you want a computer to do and all the work-type stuff. PCs cost less, have unstable software (bloatware), attract thousands of viruses and make even simple tasks difficult and overly complicated. It's really that simple. For me, Apple products are worth every cent I pay for them and I am a very happy Apple products user. That doesn't make my richer or cooler - just a more satisfied computer user.

[GoDogGo]

06:52 PM on 10/06/2009

Same.

Given the interconnectedness of our tech today, it's important that all of my gear work together seamlessly. Apple products tend to do that. I don't have to use third party patches or any workarounds to get my phone, computer, TV and music to work together.

More expensive? Yeah, and I'm not real happy about that. But "simple" is a value proposition that makes sense for me.

[Robert Wilson]

06:49 AM on 10/07/2009

I couldn't agree more.

I was a PC guy for a long time and was more than a little reluctant to switch over to Mac. When my MacBook Pro arrived in the mail and I was able to intuitively operate it out of the box, I was a believer. It wasn't until I saw how remarkably elegant and simple Pages & Numbers (Apple's Word & Excel, respectively) were that I became a rabid convert to Apple for both design and more traditional office application.

[tallcool1]

10:29 AM on 10/06/2009

That is because mac users are fewer. Less educated than pc users ( they buy a lot of stuff they do not need or use). They are hipper because they are also lazy causing thier hips to spread.

[filo]

09:07 AM on 10/06/2009

Studies show that 57 % o all statistics are made up.

[skymuffin]

12:57 AM on 10/07/2009

Golf is a more dangerous sport than scuba diving.

[studmoose]

08:25 AM on 10/06/2009

"DOUCHEY" more like...

So does Apple protect their loyal customer base?

Each year, millions upon millions of iPods get stolen. Apple records every IP address and computer name of every iPod - when they are pluged into iTunes. Yes, as part of their tracking and legitimization process, they know where every iPod is. This seems to apply for EVERY Apple device, including laptops.

Yet, when someone's iPod is lost or stolen, Apple refuses to provide this information to their customers so they can contact the police and reclaim their product. There appeared to be discussions, on the Apple bulletin boards, that they were thinking of adding this service for $9.95 per year, but decided against it. Why? Why would a company who has this information prevent their customers from getting their gear back?

The answer appears to be the following:

A person who buys Apple devices is more likely to replace it with another Apple device. A person who steals or 'finds' and Apple device is more likely a person who would not buy one in the first place. This way, it seems to be a win-win for Apple. They get a replacement sale from their loyal customer and more iTunes sale from them, while also getting new iTunes sales from their 'newly found' customer and they hopefully will become indoctrinated into becoming a loyal Apple customer.

Hmmm.

[WilliamTheV]

12:58 AM on 10/06/2009

who funded the study?

where and how was it conducted?

[Julia Bailey]

07:16 AM on 10/06/2009

Second paragraph. "Hot off the press from consumer-research firm NPD" Even have a link

[GoDogGo]

06:47 PM on 10/06/2009

He must be a PC user.

: )

[ogaraj]

11:40 PM on 10/05/2009

Lol... I don't see how those stats are positive for Apple... The household income is high because it takes the average family to have a two-income home to afford one. Of course Apple fanboys have more computers- each year their shiny new iMac becomes obsolete and can't be upgraded so they have to buy a new one! The Apple user having twice the gadgets than the PC user has tells me that the Apple guy probably has 4 devices that do the same thing but can't figure out how to work any of them.

85% of Apple owners have a PC? I wonder what percentage of PC owners have an Apple? The study's conclusion tells me that the Apple user is the the most gullible when it comes to marketing.

Jokes and observations aside, Apple makes some solid hardware. I'll be impressed if they make OSX work on as many different hardware configurations as Windows does, but that will never happen.

[TashaG]

02:38 AM on 10/06/2009

Actually Apple's machines start at the middle range of speed and increase from there as you pay more. Whereas most PCs that people buy are already obsolete as the machine stands new on the shelf. Most Macs give 4-6 years of good service (where they can run the newest OS's and software) and many last far beyond that due to the quality of the machines.

Yeah Macs can be more expensive than pc's but you are buying a better machine to start out with (in both speed and OS quality). There has been 0 Virii on the Mac since OS X shipped in 2001 and only a couple pieces of minor malware (ie stay off pron sites and you won't be infected). So most Mac users don't use AV software which means that their machines aren't bogged down by such software.

Also, I think you will find that Mac users buy more gadgets (and Software) because they generally have a great experience with Cameras, iPods, iPhones etc. Which makes them more likely to buy more cool things to plug into their macs.

I doubt that you will ever see Mac OSX being offered by Apple for non-Apple hardware. Apple knows that controlling the hardware makes the OS more stable.

Tasha

PS There was a study conducted in the 90s that showed that Mac users purchased more software than their Windows using counterparts. I can imagine that it is even more true today with how Rock solid OSX is.

[ogaraj]

12:46 PM on 10/06/2009

Wow- most of your reply is technically misguided- the marketing has obviously worked on you.
Your speed comment is flat out false and here is why: your Macs are Intel-based now, so you are running price-inflated PC hardware in your shiny Chinese sweatshop Apple case. Macs use Intel processors, and ATI and nVidia GPUs, just like the PC market uses. However, Apple does not offer any of the latest and fastest CPUs or GPUs in any of their computers be it a laptop or a desktop. Businesses do not deploy Macs to enterprises because the TCO is far higher than a PC. Hackers don’t go after Macs because there aren’t enough of them out there. Business is a far better indicator of what is meaningful in the computer world than a cool Apple commercial.
If an AV app bogs down your Mac, it must be really slow. The same peripherals exist for PCs and Macs, so what do Mac users buy that PC users haven’t been using already? Mac users are generally less tech-savvy, which is why many bought their Mac to begin with as they bought into the marketing. How is it possible for Mac users to buy more software when only a fraction of the software is available?
Apple makes some nice hardware and they have their place. iPods and iPhones may be worth the price, but Apple computers simply are nothing more than a fancy-looking niche product that caters to a niche market.

[wetdentist]

04:02 PM on 10/06/2009

my ex-lead guitar player's macbook just died. that won't make it into an Apple advertisement. since he has little clue as to how a computer works internally, he doesn't have the gumption to fix it; the whole computer needs to be replaced. in this economy, he doesn't have the money. Apple seems to prey upon people who want to seem cool, and "who just want things to work." me, on the other hand, want to know HOW things work, and if they don't work, i MAKE them work. i can make informed decisions about when a device or component needs to be fixed or replaced, or, that it might just be something in the registry that needs tweaking. what's not to like about a 64 bit 2.6Ghz quad-core with 3 SATA drives totaling 2 terabytes that hum together in unison while using state of the art music production software? the tower cost 800 bucks; i can add devices and personalize the machine so that it fits perfectly with what i need to do, and i can tweak and fix and fine tune and LEARN more about how things work (instead of being a passive receptor of technology).
granted, i got me an 80 gig ipod classic with video and i LOVE it, but i wouldn't be caught dead using it with fascist itunes . . . winamp all the way

[barneylee]

10:15 PM on 10/05/2009

And Hey, we're the best. Well said by me.