A Look at Apple’s Strong Holiday Growth

In the previous part of this series, we discussed how Amazon (AMZN) continued to dominate the US e-commerce market in 2016. However, according to a report from Slice Intelligence, Apple (AAPL) managed to grow the fastest during this period.

As the chart above shows, Apple managed to grow 66% year-over-year. Best Buy (BBY), Lowe’s (LOW), and The Home Depot (HD) also managed to grow quickly, due to strong home and electronics sales during the holidays. Apple benefited from the launch of new Apple Watch and MacBook lineups. Apple launched the Apple Watch Nike+ in October last year, which combines features of the Apple Watch Series 2 and Nike+ Run Club app.

According to another report from Slice Intelligence, the Apple Watch accounted for 46.0% of online revenue generated in the wearables market during the holiday period, compared with 37.0% the prior holiday season. Apple’s closest competitor, Fitbit (FIT), saw its market share fall from 36.8% in 2015 to 31.9% in 2016.

In October last year, Apple also launched the new MacBook Pro, which is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. This refresh of the MacBook lineup was long overdue—Apple was struggling to maintain its share in the PC (personal computer) market. According to IDC, Apple’s share of the PC market fell from 8.1% in 3Q15 to 7.4% in 3Q16.