Tracking Group Predicts First Ever iPod Sales Drop
10:37 pm, May 18th, 2009, Pete Mortensen
Image from GameSpot.
This isn’t official yet, but look out — sales of Apple’s iPod business might have dropped in April compared to last year. If true and an indication of performance for May and June, that’s the first time that’s ever happened — iPod revenue has gone up year over year every single quarter since Apple launched the 1G in October 2001. According to the NPD Group, Apple will sell between 9.5 and 10.5 million iPods this year, between 5 and 14 percent of last year’s mark.
Now, this doesn’t include iPhone revenue, which is almost guaranteed to keep delivering huge profits and revenue growth for years to come (dividing the money from each iPhone sold across 24 months will tend to yield more reliable numbers than lump sum payments). But it does show that even Apple isn’t immune to the current downturn — and the iPod business might be in for somewhat lean times until we get to back-to-school promotions and the holiday season. When money’s short, the urge to upgrade fades away, especially when the new killer features of the last year are Shake-to-Shuffle, built-in NikePlus support, and a buttonless shuffle. Still, who knows — people constantly expect iPod sales to collapse, and it’s never happened yet.
In better news, Mac sales are solid and down less than most consensus estimates. In spite of Microsoft’s best efforts. People are loving the Mac. Using a late 2008 MacBook, I’m not surprised. This is the best line-up of computers that Apple has ever had. Not a weak spot in the family.
Via BusinessWeek
Posted by Pete Mortensen in Apple, Macintosh, iPod | Comment on this article
I know that, for the first time, I’m resisting purchasing the 17″ MacBook Pro as an upgrade. Part of it’s the economy, and part of it is the giant trackpad button / obnoxious glare screen (I resent being asked to pay more for a screen that doesn’t cause so many problems).
I’ve never waited before, and I doubt I’m alone.
The Idiot, on May 18th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Surely you mean “between 5 and 14 percent LOWER THAN last year’s mark,” if NPD is to be trusted at all. Are they? How accurate have their previous estimates been?
Andrew Heninger, on May 18th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
I actually prefer the giant trackpad/button. In fact, I was about to take issue with Pete’s comment that there isn’t a weak spot. I think the Air is due for a refresh one reason being that it doesn’t have the trackpad/button that the newer laptops have.
PL, on May 19th, 2009 at 5:43 am