“A study published last week said 46% of Apple’s U.S.installed user base is 55 or older. That’s compared with only 25.2% of home PC users who are in that age category, reported MetaFacts Inc., a national market research firm,” Sharon Gaudin reports for InformationWeek. “Now, those numbers are for homes where a Mac or a MacBook is the primary computer, and it doesn’t take the iPod, a phenom of the Gen X and Gen Y crowds, into account. MetaFacts’ numbers, though, caused quite a stir in an industry that sees Apple sitting on the cool edge of the market, drawing in throngs of young and tech-savvy users.”
Gaudin reports, “The survey also drew a quick response from Apple. Just a few hours after the results of the study were published on InformationWeek.com, an Apple spokeswoman sent an e-mail asserting that MetaFacts had it all wrong. ‘The MetaFacts data you cited in your story is incorrect. Our customer data shows that only around 20% of Mac users are over the age of 55,’ wrote Lynn Fox, a director of Mac PR at Apple, in an e-mail. ‘The Mac is more popular than ever, and we are thrilled that our products appeal to people of ages 1 to 100.'”
Gaudin reports, “Van Baker, research VP at Gartner, said they don’t have specific studies on the age of Apple’s installed base, but the MetaFacts numbers are surprising to him. ‘I sincerely doubt those numbers are accurate,’ said Baker. ‘That just runs completely counter to everything you see when you walk into an Apple store. It’s not full of Americans approaching retirement but it’s full of young people.’ Baker did point out that one Gartner study showed that the average age of a male head of household buying a Mac is 39.4 years old, while it’s 41 for a PC.”
Gaudin reports, “Tim Bajarin, a principal analyst at Creative Strategies, Inc., said… that among new registered Mac users only 22% to 24% are in the 55 and older category.”
Full article here.
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Nearly half of Apple Mac users are over 55? – November 30, 2006