It claims most O2 stores missed iPhone targets by some distance, with a typical-sized O2 store selling just one iPhone per week. There was, however, a major spike in iPhone sales in the week before Christmas.

Carphone Warehouse reported a similarly slow sales pattern. One Carphone staffer said: ‘The iPhone was poor. We work in one of the bigger stores in our area and only sold one or two over the Christmas period. Our target last week was to sell 36 and we only sold one.’