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How is it possible that MacBook sales in the U.S. fell 6% during the holidays?
- Thread starter raptorstv
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Basically, there are few possible reasons:
- The average price of MacBooks increased by $100, which could mean 6% less sales.
- Apple has focused mainly on the iPhone and their desktops (i.e. iMac), which could draw attention and sales away from their MacBooks.
Basically, there are few possible reasons:
- The average price of MacBooks increased by $100, which could mean 6% less sales.
- Apple has focused mainly on the iPhone and their desktops (i.e. iMac), which could draw attention and sales away from their MacBooks.
Seems like anything these days can be interpreted as a crack in Apple's future. According to the same report, Windows notebooks declined 11%. So apple actually gained market share.
The "people buying iPads instead" comment was probably closest to the mark.
^This. Just like laptops overtook desktops a few years back, tablets are now the sellers. Evolution continues.
Also shows...
Also shows...people are not buying the latest and greatest the day it comes out. People are making due with older everything. Local tire store guy told me he used to see car mileage on cars he put tires on 50-60K. Now be see cars coming in with cars 150K and up. Take a look at cars for sale on craigslist, most have 125K miles on up and a lot with over 200K.
Money is still tight no matter what the talking heads say. Why buy a 'NEW" laptop when you can use your old on and just get a new Iphone or ipad.
Also shows...people are not buying the latest and greatest the day it comes out. People are making due with older everything. Local tire store guy told me he used to see car mileage on cars he put tires on 50-60K. Now be see cars coming in with cars 150K and up. Take a look at cars for sale on craigslist, most have 125K miles on up and a lot with over 200K.
Money is still tight no matter what the talking heads say. Why buy a 'NEW" laptop when you can use your old on and just get a new Iphone or ipad.
In 2011, new MBPs were introduced in October, so people were buying the latest and greatest around the holidays. This year everything was updated in July. It's possible people bought them already, before the holiday shopping began. It's also possible that more put off buying a new MBP around The holidays because its out of date and there are rumors of an early 2013 update.
The amount of sales fell 6% but the average price of each sale increased 7.5%, so it's not that bad.
To answer the question, I think it has to do with the fact that the 13" cMBP was by far the favorite MacBook no too long ago but now it's becoming less and less interesting with its relatively high price tag considering its somewhat outdated specs (for the price). A 1280x800 screen and a mechanical hard drive in a +$1k laptop was acceptable a couple years ago, not so much in 2012-2013.
We're in the awkward moment of a transition to flash storage where HDD feel like outdated tech yet flash storage is still too expensive in large capacity.
If you want a pretty high capacity (256GB-512GB), which was previously available for cheap in the MacBook / 13" cMBP, you now have to spend a lot more for flash storage even in a MacBook Air which is now the low-end offering.
A 13" MBA with 512GB of storage is a whopping $2k. I can understand people who are waiting for flash price to drop.
To answer the question, I think it has to do with the fact that the 13" cMBP was by far the favorite MacBook no too long ago but now it's becoming less and less interesting with its relatively high price tag considering its somewhat outdated specs (for the price). A 1280x800 screen and a mechanical hard drive in a +$1k laptop was acceptable a couple years ago, not so much in 2012-2013.
We're in the awkward moment of a transition to flash storage where HDD feel like outdated tech yet flash storage is still too expensive in large capacity.
If you want a pretty high capacity (256GB-512GB), which was previously available for cheap in the MacBook / 13" cMBP, you now have to spend a lot more for flash storage even in a MacBook Air which is now the low-end offering.
A 13" MBA with 512GB of storage is a whopping $2k. I can understand people who are waiting for flash price to drop.
There are lots of factors. First, some people may be holding off on getting new notebooks because of the sluggish economy. Job growth has been relatively slow, and in general retail sales during the holiday disappointed. Second, if the figures are correct (and we don't know for sure), Mac sales fell less than the overall industry. Third, some people may be buying iPads and similar tablets instead of notebooks. As others have pointed out, the average selling price increased, which suggests that the people who delayed or cancelled Mac purchases were those on the lower end. People who might have purchased a $999 MacBook Air might have instead opted for an iPad.
and way too expensive. Why would an average consumer buy a MacBook when they can go to Walmart and buy a laptop for a fraction of the price that does everything they need to do? Last year my parents asked me about getting a new desktop PC and laptop. They asked me about getting Macs and I told them not to. They got both a windows desktop PC and laptop for less than the cost of the cheapest MacBook Air and they both do more than they need.
Yup, this.
It's quite easy to say "I have enough money to buy an iPad now, so I'll just get the iPad now, and maybe save up for that more expensive MacBook next year or two...."
It's instant gratification (get iPad now) versus having the discipline to wait and wait until you have enough money for a more expensive Mac laptop.
Surely you jest
I agree with one of the other posters talking about relative price. I'm a tech nerd, so I didn't mind spending what I did to purchase a classic MacBook Pro. That said, a vast majority of people in the market for a new PC or Laptop only need it for light browsing, watching movies/netflix, MS Office, stuff like that.
Those people can get more than what they need in the $600-$800 range, whereas the minimum point of entry for an Apple Laptop ($13" or above) is $1,200.
I think a lot of us here see the value proposition of getting a MacBook (OSX, great customer service, Apple Stores, build quality, resale value, etc.), the average consumer still does not I believe.
I also think a good amount of folks are realizing they can do their light web browsing, email, and other entertainment related stuff just fine on a $500 iPad. I see this trend continuing.
