Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an Apple event announcing the iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, Sept. 9, 2014. (REUTERS/Stephen Lam)
With the first Apple Watch weekend now done and dusted, you can be sure company executives will be poring over the pre-order sales figures on Monday, searching for clues as to how its first ever wearable might fare in the long term.
There's a chance Apple will this week offer some broad sales figures relating to the Apple Watch's debut, though in the meantime e-commerce analytics firm Slice Intelligence has crunched some numbers to offer its own assessment.
After looking at e-receipt data for 9,080 online shoppers, Slice estimates 957,000 people ordered an Apple Watch in the U.S. on Friday, the first day the device went on sale.
The respectable figure, if accurate, goes beyond what high-profile Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicted when he said recently it'd take the entirety of the first weekend to hit that number.
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Interestingly, Slice's data said consumers ordered an average of 1.3 watches, suggesting some were buying extras as gifts (rather than one for each wrist, which really would taking Apple fandom to a whole new level).
Overall, the average spend per watch was $503.83, Slice reported, with 62 percent opting for the least expensive $349 Sport version. As for the top-end Apple Watch Edition, too few were sold for Slice to note the model in its analysis, though at $10,000+ apiece, this is hardly surprising.
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Among those who bought an Apple Watch in the U.S. on Friday, the analytics firm said 72 percent had purchased an Apple computer or mobile device in the past two years, while 21 percent had pre-ordered an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus in recent months.
Bigger looks to be better
For Apple Watch buyers, it seems bigger is definitely better, with 71 percent going for the 42mm case over the 38mm alternative. However, 32 percent of those who went for the Sport version chose the smaller case, compared to 24 percent among those who ordered the mid-range Apple Watch.
As for the Sport's band, which is offered in a range of colors, the overwhelming majority (64 percent) went for the black one, while 22 percent chose white. A combined 14 percent went for the blue, green, and pink offerings, Slice said.
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The data also suggests that the tech company on Friday received 48,000 orders in the U.S. for its new ultra-slim MacBook, with 43 percent of buyers also laying down cash for an Apple Watch at the same time.
Of course, the above figures are only one company's estimation for one country, though with Apple having already announced that Watch sales figures will be wrapped up with iPod and accessories in future quarterly reports, estimates are all we have when it comes to finding out about how consumers are taking to the company's smartwatch. Having said that, if the device sells way beyond anyone's expectations, you can be sure that Apple will let us know about it.
Besides the U.S., the Apple Watch is also up for pre-order in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and the UK, with prices starting at $349.
[Source: Slice Intelligence]
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