iPad Might Be Hurting iPod Sales
The iPad has been a great success story for Apple. No other company has been able to make the tablet computer truly desirable for the public at large, and yet Apple is selling millions of them already. But new evidence shows that the iPad's success comes at the expense of Apple itself.
The latest sales estimates for Apple show significant increases in sales , but as Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster points out, "April [sales] data gives us the first sign of the degree to which the iPad cannibalizes iPod or Mac sales."
Sure enough, sales data from research firm NPD Group shows that iPod sales saw a 17 percent drop in sales last month compared to April of last year. Munster says that's evidence that the iPad is hurting the iPod.
"It appears that the iPad has a minimal cannibalization impact on Mac sales, and could be slightly cannibalizing iPod sales," Munster said.
As Munster pointed out, Mac sales are not hurt by the iPad. Mac sales are up 39 percent year-over-year, although a recent hardware refresh for Apple's notebooks may have bolstered sales. But despite slowing iPod sales and the fact that they may be partially due to the iPad, Apple probably isn't too worried.
"Given the [average selling price] and margin profile of the iPad, we see this as a net positive for Apple's business," Munster pointed out.
It's not surprising that the iPad might steal market share from the iPod, especially the iPod Touch, because the functionality of the iPad and iPod Touch are nearly identical except for the increased screen size of the iPad.
