Sales of the Apple Watch set a record in the first week of holiday shopping, says Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Our data shows that Apple Watch is doing great and looks to be one of the most popular holiday gifts this year,” Cook said.
Responding to an email from Reuters, Cook said the gadget’s sell-through – a measure of how many units are sold to consumers, rather than simply stocked on retailers’ shelves – reached a new high.
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“Sales growth is off the charts. In fact, during the first week of holiday shopping, our sell-through of Apple Watch was greater than any week in the product’s history. And as we expected, we’re on track for the best quarter ever for Apple Watch,” he said.
Cook’s comments came on the heels of data published by research firm IDC on Monday, saying Apple’s share of the wearables market fell to 5%, as ‘fitness trackers” began to dominate the wearables marker. The IDC report estimated Apple shipped 1.1 million units of their wearable in the third quarter, down from 3.9 million in the same period a year ago.
Although Cook commented that the Apple Watch’s sell-through rate was high, he has declined to provide exact sales figures for the device. Apple has never disclosed specific sales figures for the device, instead grouping it into the “other products” category, along with iPods and the Apple TV.
Strong sales of the Apple Watch are to be expected during the holiday quarter as the gadget is a more natural gift than some of the company’s other products such as the iPhone or Mac computer, said analyst Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research. Apple also lowered the price of the gadget this year, potentially helping the holiday sales comparison, O’Donnell noted.
(Via MacRumors)
