Piper Jaffray analyst Gene “Munster’s crew spent eight hours on Black Friday, as it has every year for the past five years, counting heads at the Apple Store in the Mall of America in Minneapolis. This year he (or his staff) also spent two hours monitoring the Microsoft Store directly across the hall,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune.
“There was 47% less foot traffic at the Microsoft outlet than the Apple store,” P.E.D. reports. “Shoppers bought 17.2 items per hour at the Apple Store and only 3.5 items per hour at the Microsoft Store. All but two of the Microsoft purchases were X-Box games.”
P.E.D. reports, “Shoppers at the Apple Store bought an average of 11 iPads per hour. Despite heavy TV, print and billboard advertising for the new Microsoft Surface tablet, not one was sold sold during the two hours Piper Jaffray spent monitoring that store.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Smirk.
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iPads were down year over year though. I hope that’s because everyone’s buying online
Re: Surface. I guess we know now why Sinofsky got Forstalled.
I believe the general view is that iPad sales were weak in the October earnings report (July-September quarter) because Apple was selling iPad 3’s out of inventory rather than making new ones (clearing the shelves for iPad 4) and because many consumers were waiting for the iPad Mini before making a purchase decision. In other words, not a drop in demand for iPads …
Driving north on the 405 in LA this weekend, I couldn’t believe how many Surface billboard ads lined the highway.
Maybe they should just rename it “Flat.”
And every flubbing commercial on tv was Windows 8 related.
ouch!!!
Tis a scratch, nothing but a flesh wound.
The most desired gift is the iPad. The ‘gift’ you will get if you are bad is a lump of Surface.
I don’t think the typical American shopper has the savvy to grasp the innovative thinking at work in the Surface kickstand.
it even clicks to let you know it’s in position.
OMFG!!!! Really!!??
/s, if really necessary 🙂
even my kids (11, 9 & 7) laugh at the Surface commercials. OMG! It clicks into position. WOW!
…and at a sublime 22° angle.
MAGICAL!
and it even scratches your own surface…
At our mall, Microsoft Surface stand was embarrassingly empty, I kind of felt bad for those sales guys.
Come on Steve Balmer. Get a few hired buyers to purchase a Surface Tablet and walk the mall. At the end of the day, they bring them back to the store manager and come back the next day. It is the “Microsoft Way” and should be done at the mall that is surveyed year after year.
P.E.D. reports, “Shoppers at the Apple Store bought an average of 11 iPads per hour. Despite heavy TV, print and billboard advertising for the new Microsoft Surface tablet, not one was sold sold during the two hours Piper Jaffray spent monitoring that store.”
Of course, that someone monitoring the store was bright enough to make sure the MS store had Surface tablets to sell? You know, that it didn’t sell out because it had limited stock in the first place. Didn’t Apple’s iPhone run into that problem where fans were disappointed that after waiting in line there was no product left or of only one color or not the GB size wanted. Hell, it’s November 26th and I’m waiting to click on the Apple store for the 21.5 inch iMac announced last month, where Apple said they’d be available in November. You only got five days left Apple! Anyway, a whole two hour observation, WOW! Wonder if they sold them all prior. Good thing these folks didn’t do a several day stock observation of Apple a few weeks ago when Apple dropped over $50.00 bucks. What would they have said about Apple’s stock or Apple’s future based on that short observation???
Start flaming, but before you do, tell me you’d rely on such a weak observation / study that made the basis for this story?!
maybe they had trouble staying awake because it was so slow at the microsoft store?
I was at MOA on Sunday morning. The M$ store is directly across the hallway from the Apple Store so they are very easy to monitor. Apple was busy, while M$ had a large number of employees talking to one another.
if I stare at a microsoft store for too long, it only hurts my eyes.
I genuinely feel sorry for someone who’s glass is always half employ.
Its not a weak observation or a poor study. Within the parameters of the work, (how many people cam out of store A with objects purchased in a timed period) its fine.
17.5 versus 3.5.
Make of that what yu will, but as it was a big shopping day, and the stores were in the same location, I will make the easy assumption that Apple sold app. 5x more product than Microsoft, despite having half the customers (47%).
I believe this “weak story/observation” because it corroborates everything we know about Surface sales. Which is that they suck. Like, a lot.
Do you seriously think Gene Munster didn’t bother to check if there were Surfaces available at the MS store? Even though he was observing everything else in fine detail?
Uh, yeah.
The only weak story here is the one coming from you.
I’m shocked… I mean, how could you want an iPad over a surface? Hasn’t anyone seen the cool dancers in the commercial?! The dancers people! Come on!!
You know, here in LA, I wonder sometimes if the Microsoft store is filled with hired customers.
At the mall a few weeks ago, it was quite empty and before the evening rush. Every store empty, including the Apple store.
Sure enough, the Microsoft store had a lot of customers inside, staffing pointing to things on the screens and the customers smiling, patting them on the back. Entire families laughing, having fun together, sharing a cup of coffee. The young hipster rocking out to the beats in his headphones on the side music display.
It all seemed faked.
It IS LA.
Hey 🙂
They were trying to stage a viral video and a quiet time at the mall is perfect for filming. You’re right — you can have the bodies and location, but excitement over Microsoft products must be FAKED!
Click click click click. The sound during a Micosoft Surface commercial….
Is coming from my remote.
The only reason Android POS stuff is moving huge numbers is because its super cheap POS. buy one get one two free. It’s cheap or free and a ripoff of iOS. Android, Samsung doesn’t deserve any accolades from the media. They are successful because of deceit and underhanded tactics.
I’m at an Apple Store right now (middle if the day on a Monday), and there are way more than 17 items an hour leaving here.