iLounge

According to a new survey, AT&T and Verizon account for more than half of all iPhones sold in U.S. Citing new data from the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), AllThingsD reports that AT&T sold 32 percent of all iPhones sold in the U.S. from December 2011 through February 2012, while Verizon accounted for 30 percent. Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that while Apple itself accounted for 15 percent of sales—11 percent through its retail stores and four percent online—Best Buy accounted for 13 percent, just two percent shy of Apple’s numbers. Sprint accounted for seven percent of sales, while other outlets such as Walmart, Target, and Radio Shack accounted for just three percent.

“Apple Stores and the Apple Web site are tremendously productive, but they are limited by their relatively small retail footprint,” CIRP’s Josh Lowitz told AllThingsD. “There are four times as many Best Buy stores, and probably 20 times as many AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint stores, so aggressive distribution through all these channels is critical to Apple’s U.S. strategy.”