Apple Inc (AAPL) Global Foot Traffic Flattening As Stores Become Saturated

Global foot traffic to Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) stores is growing but at a slower rate, in part maybe because it is opening fewer stores.

Asymco analyst Horace Dediu who follows Apple tweeted a chart on Thursday that shows the growth of visitors to Apple stores by quarter is flattening, though still positive. The question is whether this is due to Apple opening fewer stores compared to previous, or if global consumers are less excited now about Apple products.

Dediu shared an additional chart showing that per-store traffic has been steady since mid-2010. He pointed out that the average spending per store visitor is very steady at “around $50 since the iPad launched, $40 prior.” Together the graphs would suggest that consumers are still excited about Apple offerings, but its stores have become well-saturated.

Apple this year announced it will renovate stores with the intention of expanding the size of the individual store and improving the flow of people through them, which should see traffic pick up again.