Orbitz discovered that Apple Mac users spend more money on hotels than PC users, so it began showing Mac users costlier hotels first in search results. Orbitz and other retailers are starting to target a new demographic of user – the Apple demographic.
A variety of researchers have taken a crack at defining the characteristics and behavior of the Apple demographic. The average household income for adult owners of Mac computers is $98,560, compared with $74,452 for a PC owner, according to technology market data firm Forrester.
A survey of 24,000 people over the age of 18 in the U.S. from October to December found Mac owners tend to be younger. Over 41% of Mac owners were 34 years old or younger, compared with 32% for wireless laptop users and 23% for desktop owners, the study found.
Owners of Apple devices have higher incomes than users of BlackBerry devices or Android devices.
Evidence shows higher income level translates to higher spending. Nearly half of the retailers in a recent study by Forrester Research and Shop.org said users of tablets – of which, a large majority are iPad owners – place bigger online orders on average than users of laptops or desktops. Shoppers using Apple devices also outspend shoppers using Android or Blackberry devices, according to IBM, which tracks data from retailers.
Even though there are twice as many mobile gamers on Android in the U.S. as there are on iOS, the amount spent by Apple games is five times higher than Android gamers.
Retailers are scrambling to produce mobile apps geared toward iOS users, and some are retooling their websites to work better with Apple devices.
Orbitz began showing Mac users pricier hotel options after finding they tend to spend as much as 30% more a night on hotels on the site.
Apple computer owners are 48% more likely to have made an online travel purchase in the last 30 days compared with the average U.S. adult Internet user.
