With a new iPhone on the way, most likely by the end of the month, do you ever wonder what’s going through the minds of folks who are shopping for iPhones right now? And what happens at the store if they ask about the new model? It turns out that not all retail representatives have been giving shoppers a clear picture of what everyone seems to know is right around the corner.
Retail intelligence company GoSpotCheck did a survey of 182 retail locations over three days in 27 states to answer the question of “What happens when you go to buy a new iPhone less than a month before the rumored new release?”
Amazingly for a comission-driven retail industry, more than half of surveyed retail agents (52%) advised shoppers to wait until the iPhone is released. Most of the rest (38%) acknowledged that a new iPhone might be coming, but advised shoppers to buy now anyway. Only 10% said they didn’t know a new iPhone was likely on the way. (Not sure what rock they’d been hiding under – or if they were just feigning ignorance to close the sale.)
Of course, those responses were not evenly distributed across various retailing chains. Troubled electonics giant Best Buy was the most likely to tell shoppers to buy now, while AT&T stores were most likely to tell shoppers to wait. Workers at Apple stores, obviously very well coached, had little to say either way.
Bottom line: Don’t count on your phone retailer to keep you up to date on the big thing coming along.
