Apple is so popular all over the world that global economic growth forecasts are based on demand for its products. According to experts, the company’s recent drop in sales amid waning demand for its new products is sending alarm signals about the world economic outlook.
According to preliminary sales data, customers are not eager to upgrade to the new iPhone 13. This can be attributed primarily to the fact that shoppers are concerned about extravagant purchases in the face of soaring prices and the next wave of the pandemic. “The story has been that we’ve seen absolutely extraordinary levels of consumer demand for goods. What we’re starting to see is the extraordinary demand levels are coming down,” UBS Group AG Chief Economist Paul Donovan wrote in a note to clients. Another factor of a downward shift in demand is considered to be the loss of consumer appetite for the brand's flagship products due to long wait times for new devices. The situation is so challenging that Apple has slashed its new smartphone production targets.
Such consumer caution around the world suggests that many economies facing the new virus threat will hardly find support from goods spending that has been strong since the start of the pandemic. In the United States, the consumer price index is breaking multi-year records. Across the OECD group of major economies, consumer prices are rising at the fastest pace in nearly a quarter century. Britain’s consumers are being weighed by tax hikes. All this affects the mood among households and their willingness to buy new stuff, including the latest and most cutting-edge mobile phones.
