Fewer U.S. iPhone buyers are purchasing directly from Apple Inc., as more deal with telecom carriers, according to a new report.

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners said 76% of U.S. iPhone buyers in the 12 months ended in December purchased from stores and websites operated by mobile carriers, up from 65% two years earlier. Only 11% bought phones directly from Apple, down from 16% two years earlier. The remaining phones are purchased at other retailers, such as Best Buy Co.

Apple benefits more when customers buy from its stores or website, rather than from a carrier, said CIRP co-founder Michael Levin. In the stores, he said, Apple can keep more of the profits from selling the device, control the customer experience and not worry that shoppers may choose another brand.

"Apple much prefers to sell iPhones in their own store or the website than through carriers," said Mr. Levin, who estimates that about two-thirds of Apple's U.S. retail sales come from its 267 brick-and-mortar stores and one-third from its online store.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Operators are offering to upgrade phones more quickly than in the past, offering one possible explanation for their growing share of iPhone sales. For example, Sprint Corp. offers a plan for an iPhone 6S for $1 a month, with the trade-in of a previous generation iPhone 6. T-Mobile offers a similar plan for $5 a month.

As mobile carriers aggressively pitch customers on data plans for tablet computers, their stores are also becoming a more popular place to buy iPads. Carriers sold 18% of iPads purchased in the U.S. in the 12 months ended December, compared with 6% two years earlier. Apple stores still account for 23% of iPad sales, roughly flat with 2013. The carriers have gained share from Best Buy and Amazon.com Inc., whose share of iPad sales have decreased.

Apple stores still dominate sales of Mac computers, accounting for 44% of all U.S. Mac purchases in the 12 months ended December. Best Buy accounted for the next largest share of U.S. Mac sales at around 20%.

The CIRP report offers a rare glimpse of Apple's retail operations, as Apple has curtailed disclosures about the business. In the fiscal year ended September 2015, Apple stopped breaking out revenue from its retail operations in its earnings statements. The majority of Apple's roughly 480 stores are located in the U.S.

In February, shopping-mall operator General Growth Properties said holiday-season sales at Apple stores were disappointing. General Growth CEO Sandeep Mathrani said fourth-quarter sales a square foot in non-department stores increased in nearly every major retail category except for electronics, "primarily due to Apple."

Write to Daisuke Wakabayashi at Daisuke.Wakabayashi@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 08, 2016 11:05 ET (15:05 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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