iPhone 7 Plus Stock Expected to Remain Tight Through Holiday Shopping Season

Apple is unlikely to reach iPhone 7 supply and demand equilibrium by the end of the December quarter, suggesting stock will remain tight through the holiday shopping season, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

Munster checked 134 Apple retail stores in the United States for in-store iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus availability and found 47% of models he checked were available for pickup compared to 40% a month ago. By comparison, he said last year the iPhone 6s lineup was at 100% availability at this time.

iPhone 7 models remain more widely available than iPhone 7 Plus models by a significant margin. In a research note obtained by MacRumors, Munster said iPhone 7 Plus inventory remains constrained, with only 3% of SKUs available in the Apple retail stores he checked compared to 14% a month ago.

Piper Jaffray said iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus inventory in China continues to be more constrained than on Apple’s home turf. It found 16% total availability of SKUs at 96 China Unicom stores versus the 47% figure in the United States.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tags: Piper Jaffray, Gene Munster, Apple retail
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