Apple is no longer just a craze but a loved brand in India

There is a lot to learn from Apple.  For me the biggest takeaway after visiting a couple of partner stores in Gurugram including Apple partner stores in CyberHub and Horizon Centre was that if you can make customers happy, everyone in the ecosystem is happy.  The partners are happy, employees are happy and even the government feels happy about the progress. Almost 10 months back when I was travelling to different cities and meeting offline retailers for a research project, many of them admitted the importance of Apple in their business.  Apple would take care of their bottom-line revenues for which they had to do zero selling.  They only had to ensure that they keep the stocks.  Similarly, the government is happy that we have a marquee brand now Making in India and that too the latest models.  Gone are the days of L-1 (latest minus one) production approach for India.

All these are I would say offshoots of a key change I could sense from my 20 interactions with customers who walked out of these stores with an iPhone purchase.  The emotion was simply of happiness.  No longer did I see that pride in their body gestures that would tell me that it’s only the craze or any societal reason for which they were compelled to buy an iPhone. It was their genuine love for the brand. This is also seen from the fact that buyers did not only go for iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus that would have otherwise solved their need of owning an iPhone in the hands at a relatively lesser price.  The customers equally purchased iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max variants as well. Its a bumper harvest of Apples in India! 🙂

This is reflecting a change in the minds of consumers about Apple, particularly iPhones.  The Indian consumers have also started to understand the brand and recognize what it stands for.  For instance, out of the 20 exit interviews I did, 11 told me that the top reason they are buying iPhones is better security and control over privacy.  3 loved the gaming experience and the remaining 6 were admirers of the camera.  Of course, they had other reasons also of buying an iPhone.  This also corroborates with my recent 15 minutes interaction; I can say a depth interview of a CXO level leader of a $3 billion group on his choice of gadgets. The gentleman is using iPhone and his top reason was also security and privacy control it offers.  Well on the contrary side, when I asked people in my exit interview, who were currently using an Android smartphone that did they encounter any security or privacy breach the answer was in negative.  Even if it is perception driven, I think the values that iPhone is built on have unambiguously passed on to the customers which helps them understand the brand better. This also tells me that the value and importance of data is being recognised by people in India and they want the ensure its safe and secure, besides keeping their digital presence and identity safe.

Co-incidentally, in the evening, I was attending a celebrations party where a client company was celebrating its 8^th anniversary.  Apart from being asked what’s new in the iPhone, should they buy it or not, I participated in a conversation of 4 husbands.  3 out of these had gifted their wives iPhone 15 on the very first day of the sale and 2 out of them had got the pink colour option.  So, I could make that this weekend is going to be iPhone weekend for many families where new as well as upgrade owners are going to enjoy and celebrate the ownership. My day out with iPhone only made me realise that the positioning for the most aspirational brand in smartphones has changed. It is no longer just a craze brand. It is an expression of joy, an expression of love and celebration.  Indians have started loving iPhone and I see the brand also reciprocating this love by at least started making 2 of the latest 4 models of the 15 series in India.  Among the various global markets, India has the maximum growth potential to offer to iPhone.  It would be interesting to see how iPhone fairs in the Indian market over next 5 years, where we at Techarc are expecting it to cross 10% market share, doubling the present levels.  For now, happy iPhoning!