Analyst Gene Munster and his team at Piper Jaffray conducted a queue study at Apple stores. The study was conducted in three major US cities - New York, Boston and Minneapolis - and found that there were 83% more queues for the iPhone 5 than they were for the iPhone 4S.
Based on this data, the analyst predicts that iPhone 5 retail sales will reach 8 million by the end of the first week of sales. This number is an average indicator of the previous expectations stated by J. Munster, since before the start of the device's implementation, he predicted from 6 to 10 million sales.
The following Monday, a week after the launch of the phone, Apple traditionally announces iPhone sales figures for the first three days. If the projections are true, Apple is likely to set a record iPhone 5 sales weekend during its September 24, 2012 press release.
The hype around the iPhone 5, along with positive reviews of the device in the tech press, contributed to J. Munster's confidence that Apple could sell 49 million iPhones in the December quarter. There is only one caveat: Will Apple be able to manufacture the devices fast enough to meet current demand.
The Piper Jaffray team counted 775 customers in line for the iPhone 5 on Friday outside the Apple store, up 70% from last year when its predecessor, the iPhone 4S, debuted.
Note that the number of pre-orders for the iPhone 5 exceeded 2 million in the first 24 hours since the start of the checkout, which is twice the corresponding figure for pre-orders last year. J. Munster believes that the demand for pre-orders increased at a faster pace than the "live queue" only because most customers are more comfortable using online ordering.
