Evidence of iPod's "continued dominance"

PiperJaffray said today that it believes that iPod's continued dominance of the portable audio market, is likely having an impact on Creative, which this morning lowered guidance for the June quarter. The company indicated that the 13 percent lower guidance is a result of softer than expected overall market demand for MP3 players and lower ASPs. "Our checks with retailers show that Apple's presence in the retail market remains significantly greater than Creative," wrote analyst Gene Munster. "also, NPD data shows a significant up-tick in Apple MP3 player market share since the release of the iPod shuffle." Munster said the firm believes Apple will "significantly benefit from back-to-school and holiday buying" in the September and December quarters.

Apple holding its ground

Last week we spoke with MP3 player sales reps at 100 U.S. retail stores about what portable audio devices they recommend to customers and why. 58% of reps recommend some variation of iPod, while only 16% of salespeople would point their customer to a Creative device. We believe these checks provide another indication that Apple is holding its ground, if not gaining momentum, as the leader in portable audio."

"Also, NPD data for flash-based MP3 players has shown a dramatic increase in Apple market share since the launch of the iPod shuffle (from launch in January to 58% by March). Following the March quarter, Creative indicated that it was lowering prices on some of its devices in response to the iPod shuffle and in an attempt to drive volume. It is important to keep in mind that the iPod shuffle was only widely available in the last month of the March quarter.

Filed under: iPod, industry