Best Buy is offering the Apple Watch Sports Edition at a discounted price tag of $249 (AU$346) from its usual price of $349 (AU$485).
Advertisement
However, Black Friday’s numbers do beg us to reconsider Apple’s original forecast. B&H Photo Video is also selling the Apple smartwatch for $249 (AU$346).
We continue to view the Apple Watch as a potential door opener for wearable technology across the board, as this next paradigm shift is likely set to take place across the consumer/enterprise landscape.
FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives cited anecdotal evidence that consumer interest in the Apple Watch is growing, along with sales, based on conversations at various Apple, Best Buy and Target stores on Black Friday.
Apple hasn’t gone public with how many Apple Watches it’s sold, but according to these figures, the firm should have a very merry Christmas indeed. The smartwatch was launched by Apple in the 2015 second quarter. Hence, analysts said that the Apple Watch could not clinch satisfactory sales result that iPhone or iPad could achieve.
Ives blamed the slow sales so far on “supply constraints” and a “choppy launch period”, but said that sales of the device started to gain traction on Black Friday, when retailers such as Best Buy in the USA slashed the price of the Apple Watch by $100. Ives predicted that total sales for the device in Q4 2015 should now be between 5 and 6 million.
“The wearables category is an important area for Apple, and [Apple Watch] sales are being closely watched into the holiday season as a barometer for future growth/product areas”, Ives added.
Advertisement
“Apple Watch is still a rounding error on overall Apple sales”, Mr. Ives stated in his latest note. The same issues coupled with lagging demand caused Apple to tone done its fourth quarter expectations from original six million to four million units it placed orders for ahead of the holiday season.
