| View this article at: http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/11/28/analysts.on.black.friday/ |
Friday, Nov 28, 2008 11:10am
Analysts express unease with Apple's Black Friday |
Apple's Black Friday specials are somewhat disappointing, say analysts with UBS and Kaufman Bros. Apple is offering discounts of up to $101 on Macs, and $21 for iPods. The difficulty, the analysts suggest, is that these sales are largely consistent with last year, representing about 5 to 10 percent off instead of predicted cuts as high as 15 percent. It is thought that sales may thus prove to be somewhat disappointing, given biting economic conditions.Kaufman's Shaw Wu notes however that accessory discounts are heavier than last year, as much as 40 percent on speakers, and that third-party resellers are acting more aggressively, slashing Mac and iPod prices by about 11 to 13 percent. Both Wu and UBS' Maynard Um observe that Apple is indirectly providing deeper cuts through price matching, so long as a person can bring a competitor's ad into an Apple Store. |