Slice Intelligence (http://intelligence.slice.com) estimates that 957,000 people in the U.S. pre-ordered an Apple Watch on Friday, the first day the watch was available for sale.
According to e-receipt data from a panel of two million online shoppers, each Apple Watch buyer ordered an average of 1.3 watches, spending US$503.83 per watch, according to the research group. Those ordering an Apple Watch Sport spent $382.83 per watch and those ordering the Apple Watch spent $707.04.
Among those buying an Apple Watch, 72%t purchased an Apple product in the past two years (iPhone, iPad, or Mac), and 21% of them pre-ordered an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus months ago. Nearly one-third purchased two Apple products and 11% bought all three devices, in addition to their new watch.
As expected, most consumers (62%) purchased the less-expensive Sport model. However, many Apple Watch buyers invested in the pricier case but the cheapest band, with more than one third adding a black or white Sport band.
Whether they bought an Apple Watch or the Sport edition, most consumers opted for the larger 42 mm case, with 71% overall selecting the larger format. Sport buyers were slightly more likely to choose the 38 mm case, with 32% purchasing the smaller version, versus 24% of Apple Watch buyers.
The most popular type of case is the space gray aluminum case, with 40% of Apple Watch buyers choosing the option, followed by: stainless steel at 34%, silver aluminum at 23%. and Space Black stainless steel at 3%.
The black sport band was by far the most popular among both Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport buyers, with 49% overall pre-ordering one, followed by the white sport band at 16% and the more expensive Milanese Loop ($149 versus $49 for the black Sport band) rounding out the top three at around 10%.
