Six Percent of US Adults Plan to Buy an Apple Watch: Ipsos Reid

US adults are eager to grab the latest fashion and technology item that Apple launched recently: about 6% of them plan to buy the Apple Watch, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published today. That’s significantly higher than the NPD Group survey showing that 2% of US adults are interested in buying the wearable in the first month of availability.

As it turns out, the Apple Watch is more popular among men than women: 9% of men plan to buy it, compared to only 4% of the women polled by Ipsos between April 8 and April 14.

What this means in terms of sales projections is that Apple could sell 15 million Apple Watch units this year in the US alone. That may be in line with Strategy Analytics’ 15 million estimate for 2015 (considering that Ipsos polled less than 2,000 people for this survey, its credibility becomes questionable). However, if everyone’s intentions to purchase actually materialize into Apple Watch acquisitions, the wildest Wall Street analyst forecast of 40 million units in the first year of availability may sound feasible.

If calculated based on 2014 U.S. Census projections, and excluding younger teens, this could mean potential sales of about 15 million watches, if those who said they intended to buy follow through with an actual purchase.

As far as overall interest in the watch as opposed to intending to buy it, the poll showed that 18 percent of respondents were “very” or “somewhat” interested versus 76 percent who showed no interest.

As Reuters points out, 34% of men aged 18 to 28 are interested in buying an Apple Watch. The poll also reveals that adults aged between 30 and 39 are the most likely buyers, as 13% of them responded affirmatively when asked if they would purchase an Apple Watch. In addition, 10% of adults aged 18 to 29 plan to buy the device.

An interesting highlight of the study is that among the surveyed adults who don’t own an iPhone, 8% said they would consider switching to the iPhone to purchase an Apple Watch.