“Japan’s iPhone sales price is the lowest in the world!” Survey reveals… It’s not just the yen’s depreciation! Behind Apple’s strategy is the Japanese love for the iPhone! ? : J-CAST Company Watch[full text]
The sales price of the latest smartphone “iPhone 14” released by Apple in September was found to be the lowest in Japan among 37 countries and regions around the world.
A survey announced on October 5, 2022 by MM Research Institute (Minato-ku, Tokyo), an ICT market research consulting company,Japan’s iPhone sales price is the lowest among 37 countries and regions in the world‘ was made clear.
Although the rapid depreciation of the yen is behind this, it seems likely that Apple has set prices strategically in order to maintain its high market share and popularity in Japan.
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Do Japanese people like iPhones? (Photo is an image)
Japanese selling price of “iPhone 14” series, half of the highest Turkey
In a survey by MM Research Institute, we compared and analyzed the prices of Apple online stores in each country, focusing on the iPhone 14 series, which was launched worldwide on September 16, 2022.
As a result, the Japanese selling prices of the iPhone 14 series as of September 2022 are iPhone 14 (119,800 yen), iPhone 14 Plus (149,800 yen), iPhone 14 Pro (194,800 yen), and iPhone 14 Pro Max (239,800 yen). , All 4 models were the cheapest among 37 countries / regions =See Chart 1.
(Chart 1) Sales price of the iPhone 14 series worldwide (according to research by MM Research Institute)
Limited to the iPhone 14, the second cheapest is China (122,429 yen), the third is Hong Kong (125,436 yen), the fourth is Taiwan (126,818 yen), and the highest is Turkey (238,454 yen). It is about twice that of Japan.
Also, as of June 2022, the price of the iPhone 13 was the lowest in Japan =See Chart 2. Due to the price revision by Apple in July just after that, the selling price in Japan increased by about 20%.
(Chart 2) Global sales price of iPhone 13 (according to research by MM Research Institute)
Of the 37 countries/regions, only three countries, including Japan, Turkey and Australia, have revised prices. Since there was no price revision in the United States, it can be inferred that price adjustments were made based on exchange rate fluctuations.
After that, with the launch of the iPhone 14 series in September, the price of the iPhone 13, which became an out-of-model model, was reduced around the world. In Japan, it was 107,800 yen (10,000 yen lower than the July price), which was the fourth lowest price in the July price revision, but it was the lowest price again.See Figure 2 again.
In addition, the iPhone SE3 was also the third cheapest price in Japan due to the price revision in July, but in September it was the cheapest again at 62,800 yen =See Figure 3. Second is the United States (66,725 yen), followed by Hong Kong (67,255 yen). The average price outside of Japan is 80,397 yen, which is about 17,600 yen higher than Japan’s, and the highest in Turkey (130,762 yen) is about 2.1 times that of Japan.
(Chart 3) Global sales price of iPhone SE3 (according to research by MM Research Institute)
The popularity of the iPhone in Japan is deep-rooted, and old-fashioned models continue to be loved
By the way, MM Research Institute brings up an interesting index called “iPhone index” to compare countries. It is the iPhone 14 price in the country divided by the average wage. Average wages are based on data from OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and other sources. It can be said that the smaller the index value, the easier it is to purchase an iPhone.
Japan’s iPhone index is 2.06%. It was the 18th lowest value among 37 countries/regions. In other words, it can be said that the ease of purchasing an iPhone ranks average. A closer look reveals that Singapore has the lowest rate (0.80%), followed by the United States (1.21%) in second place, and the United Arab Emirates (1.25%) in third place. On the other hand, the highest was India (13.63%) =See Figure 4. The second highest is the Philippines (10.89%) and the third highest is Brazil (9.16%).
(Chart 4) iPhone index (iPhone price as a share of average wage) (according to MM Research Institute)
Why is it that most iPhones are the cheapest in Japan when it comes to the ease of buying an iPhone, even though Japan ranks average in the world?
MM Research Institute analyzes this survey as follows.
“As of September 2022, the price of the iPhone 14 series in Japan was the lowest. However, as the price of the iPhone 13 series was revised in July, it is unclear whether the price of the iPhone 14 series will be maintained for one year. Depending on exchange rate fluctuations, there is a high possibility that the price will be revised again.If the price rises further, it is predicted that the iPhone’s share of about 50% will decrease.
However, the popularity of the iPhone in Japan is persistent, and (1) the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 models, which continue to be sold on Apple Online, may be supported for a long time, (2) Further expansion of trade-in services by mobile carriers and Apple, ( 3) Increase in second-hand businesses and flea market sales and second-hand purchases — As it is assumed that there are many users who want to continue using the iPhone, which is becoming a luxury item, it is sufficient to maintain and expand its market share. It would be possible. I would like to pay attention to future price fluctuations and market share competition with Android smartphones.”
It seems that Apple strategically set the price in order to maintain its high popularity and market share in Japan.
In the survey, we compared direct sales prices (including taxes such as consumption tax) on Apple Online in 37 countries and regions such as Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and France. . Prices are based on exchange rates as of June 1, July 6, and September 12, 2022, and converted into yen for comparison.
Experienced expatriate “I’m asked to buy an iPhone when I return to Japan temporarily”
iPhone14 and iPhone14Plus (from Apple’s press release)
Regarding the results of this survey, the following opinions were received in the comments section of Yahoo News.
“It has long been known that Apple products purchased in Japan are cheap, and that has not changed even with the yen depreciating. When I am stationed overseas, I am asked to buy an iPhone when I return to Japan. .The release date in Japan is early, and the price is cheap.If you buy it at the Apple store and give it with the receipt from the Apple store, you can quickly upload it to SNS and brag to your friends.Now is the time to resume inbound. It’s time to earn foreign currency.It’s not the time for Japan to be negative, such as retreating or becoming poor.Let’s do business while it’s business.”
“Although there are some people who are against it, the biggest advantage of the iPhone is that even if the OS changes, it will remain iOS, will continue to be supported up to a certain generation, and will have almost the same operational feel.And most of the data is stored in the cloud. Because it is stored, even if the hardware changes or you run into trouble, I wonder if it is highly reproducible and maintainable.This concept did not exist in Japanese mobile phones and smartphones before the iPhone came out.And MAC. It also has a high affinity with the MacBook, contributing to the sales of MacBook, and it makes sense to strategically lower the selling price in Japan.”
Overflowing “iPhone love” (photo is an image)
“Does the fact that the world’s cheapest iPhone is unaffordable mean that (Japan) belongs to the world’s lowest income? Even the US price 14 Pro starts at $ 999, so it’s definitely too expensive. It’s not like we used to do ‘overseas shopping tours’, but now it’s a reverse version.From the perspective of inbound foreigners coming from overseas, everything seems to be cheap.”
“It’s likely to be higher than the monthly take-home salary of new university graduates. The iPhone will likely become a status product for the wealthy once again. Androids that sell for tens of thousands of yen are enough for normal use.”
“Even before this depreciation of the yen, it was strange that there were so many iPhone users at the income level of Japanese people. Not only iPhones, Japanese people buy and demand too much luxury goods for their income.”
(Kazuo Fukuda)
