News

As the stock market flailed and the global economy caused consumers to clutch their wallets close to their chests, Jim Dalrymple has not wavered in his Christmas shopping plans.

The Halifax man's wife and 14-year-old daughter will unwrap iPhones this year, the highly coveted Apple gadget that has defied the recent financial downturn by remaining a hot seller, price tag be damned.

The only person in his family who won't have a new phone come Boxing Day is Mr. Dalrymple's teenage son, who is not being overlooked for financial reasons.

“I'm not worried about the money, he just doesn't really care about having a phone right now,” Mr. Dalrymple said. “When he does, I'll get him one too.”

This week, Rogers announced it had sold 255,000 iPhones across Canada between the product's launch on July 11 and the end of September.

Apple consumers and industry experts say the tightening of purse strings brought about by recent economic uncertainty will not diminish the appeal of the touch-screen phone, which has established itself as an all-in-one iPod, Internet browser and seemingly recession-proof luxury purchase.

“We've seen time and time again that if people want something bad enough, they're willing to put themselves in debt or save less in order to buy it,” said Josh Martin, a consumer research analyst with the Boston-based Yankee Group.

Mr. Martin believes the phone will be a highlight of the Christmas season, even though models cost $199 or $299 and come with a monthly bill.

“I don't know if consumers don't see that or they just think, ‘It's months away and I'll cut back other areas,' ” he said. “It would be interesting to see if consumers are cutting out other things so they can afford to have their iPhone.”

Outside the Apple store in Montreal, Eric Bensoussan said he has scaled back on restaurants, refrained from buying shoes and clothes and watched like everyone else as the economy around him tanks. But Tuesday afternoon, the 26-year-old cast the gloom aside and was prepared to spend as much as $500 on an iPhone and the accompanying plan.

“It's not justified given the economy,” said Mr. Bensoussan, who works in clothing retail. “But we always want something we can't have and can't afford. No matter what position we're in, we find a way.”

In the space of about 45 minutes, more than a half-dozen customers, mostly young and most of them male, turned up at a store on St. Catherine Street to purchase or inquire about iPhones.

Ignoring the downturn in the economy, they cited iPhone's multi-functionality and current “it” status to explain their purchase.

Priscilla Lau, a 19-year-old business student, waited until her paycheque from her part-time cashier's job was deposited Tuesday afternoon, then headed straight to the store to buy an iPhone.

“People talk about it a lot. If I go to class at least 10 people are using them,” she said as she thumbed her way around her new device, for which she paid $250. “If I don't spend the money on this, I'll spend it on clothes or a bag or shoes, and those aren't really necessary either.”

Mathieu Charest, 42, who works in the film industry in Montreal, said he could use the device for his job and saw many applications, from the Internet to showing promotional videos. “I have no kids, no dog, no white picket fence,” he said. “The iPhone is practical. It's not a useless luxury.”

Alan Middleton, an assistant professor of marketing at York University's Schulich School of Business, said this mindset has solidified quickly around such high-tech gadgets. “Things like BlackBerrys and iPhones are now seen as essential equipment,” he said. “It's no longer discretionary spending.”