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Why Apple Is So Sticky

Posted by kdawson on from the it's-the-candy-dip dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "'Sticky,' in the social sciences and particularly economics, describes a situation in which a variable is resistant to change. For websites or products it usually means that visitors or customers keep coming back for more. Now Fortune Magazine reports on an analysis by Deutsche Bank's Chris Whitmore on what makes the (iTunes-based) iPhone-iPod-iPad platform so sticky and why it's going to get harder, not easier, for Apple users to switch, no matter what Google and the rest of Apple's competitors have up their sleeves. Whitmore says the investment Apple's customers have made in content for those devices in terms of apps, videos, and music purchased at the iTunes Store creates Apple's 'stickiness.' Apple has an installed base today of about 150 million iTunes-dependent devices that could grow to more than 200 million by the end of 2011. Whitmore comes up with a cumulative investment in those devices of about $15 billion today, growing to $25 billion by the end of next year. 'This averages to ~$100 of content for each installed device,' Whitmore writes, 'suggesting switching costs are relatively high (not to mention the time required to port). When Apple's best-in-class user experience is combined with these growing switching costs, the resulting customer loyalty is unparalleled.'"

6 of 595 comments (clear)

  1. To each their own... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 3, Funny

    For websites or products it usually means that visitors or customers keep coming back for more.

    For some websites on the Internet, "sticky" has a completely different meaning. :-)

    And by "some" I mean "most", and by "websites" I mean "porn". To quote Dr. Cox on Scrubs, "If you shutdown all the porn sites on the Internet, there would only be one site left and it would be called 'Bring back the porn.'"

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    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  2. Re:Apple "It Just Works" by Dunbal · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yep. Apple computers never crash.

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    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  3. Re:What "sticky" really means by hedwards · · Score: 3, Funny

    No, that's just there latest product. the iLockin. And don't forget their next product the iMholdingyourinfosrandsom.

  4. Re:Absolute horse shit by masmullin · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd like to know where you got your kool-aid

    This motherfucker jumped through my wall screaming "OHHHH YEEEAAAHHH" and then poured me a glass of kool-aid.

  5. Caramel by RevWaldo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Duh.

    .

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    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
  6. Re:Apple "It Just Works" by ClosedSource · · Score: 4, Funny

    "I've not had to field a single phone call the past couple years."

    So I guess he's really pissed and won't call you anymore. Sorry.