Apple saw iPod and Mac sales increase almost 40 per cent during January and February 2010, compared to the same months last year.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster studied NPD Group data and found that Apple Mac and iPod sales are on the rise. According to the NPD Group data on US retail sales, Apple saw increased in sales after poor performance in 2009.
For nearly 16 months Apple has seen no rise in the sale of iPod units, but the NPD data shows that sales rose seven per cent in the past two months. According to the data, nine to ten million iPods were sold in March.
Mac unit sales are also increasing. NPD data shows that in January there was a 36 per cent rise in sales, and in February there was a 43 per cent rise in sales – an average 39 per cent rise. According to Munster, this means sales are between 2.8 million and 2.9 million for the full quarter of the year.
The increase in sales is likely to be down tot he fact that last year’s sales were affected by the global recession. The rise of the previous two months looks good for Apple none the less. Piper Jaffray has high expectations for 2010 and has called 2010 the “Year of the Mac”.
While the sales have increased, the average selling prices for both product lines have declined. The Mac’s actual selling price is ten per cent down, against the seven per cent drop Munster had previously expected. ASPs for iPods were slightly up by three per cent, however this is still below Munster’s prediction of a 15 per cent increase.