Posted on Wednesday, March 18 2009 @ 0:02 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
New research data released by NPD Group indicates sales of the Apple iPod and Mac are dropping much harder than previously expected. NPD
analysts say both iPod and Mac sales were down 16 percent year-over-year in February, while the worst predicted by analysts was around a 4 percent drop.
Munster's new predictions place total iPod sales for the quarter ending in March at around 9 to 10 million units. He predicts that 2 to 2.2 million Mac computers will ship in the same period. The Street is predicting 9.5 million iPods. These figures are not significantly worse than last year, and represent analyst optimism that Apple's new products will lead to a strong March.
Thus, the real test for Apple will be how its sales have fared at the end of March. While January was a letdown and February was undeniably downward trending for Apple, a strong March could salvage an otherwise rocky quarter.
