Analyst Sees Apple iPod Shortage Spreading
In a research note Wednesday, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said that what began as "stock outs" or shortages on Amazon.com on just the iPod touch model have now spread to other retailers and different iPod models.
Wu said that the wait time at Amazon.com on the 8 GB iPod touch has stretched to three to five weeks from 11 days; the wait for the 16 GB model is three to five weeks.
Based on distribution and channel checks, Wu said that the iPod touch, iPod nano and iPod shuffle are seeing spot shortages on different colors and capacities across several retailers, including Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart and Crutchfield.com.
"Frankly, we find these sell-outs on iPods surprising given how difficult the macroeconomic environment is, putting a crimp on consumer spending," Wu said in the research note.
Wu believes that iPods' success can be attributed to certain factors.
"The iPod has a low ASP [average selling price], so, it's not a big-ticket item," Wu said in a phone interview.
And like a Big Mac, the iPod is a known quantity.
"People know what to expect when they buy an iPod," he said. "They expect a certain level of value."
Price cuts also helped to spur sales, especially given that Apple was more vocal about price matching than it has been in the past.
And while Apple users were pumped up when the company announced an online-only sale on its products on Black Friday, Wu said the price cut was "fairly modest" at only five to 10 percent. What helped sales were deeper discounts at other online sellers and the big-box stores.
Elsewhere on the Apple front, Wu said that the new iPhone 3G gift card will help Apple's bottom line as well. It's a good play as it makes it easy to pick up a gift card instead of going through the activation process and providing personal information.
"This allows customers to redeem these gift cards at an Apple Store, taking care of details including getting the iPhone set up as well as e-mail and other customizations including home screen, applications and favorite digital content," Wu said in the research note.
Apple did not return calls for comment.