Apple’s fiscal third quarter 2009 saw the decline of iPod sales from 11 million units to 10.2 million year-over-year.
Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial officer, said that the decline was due to consumers losing interest in what they call ‘traditional MP3 players’ and the iPhone platform was created in anticipation to this.
Oppenheimer explained that there are three categories of “pocket products”: traditional MP3 players such as the iPod classic, iPod nano and iPod shuffle; the iPod touch; and the iPhone.
The traditional MP3 players should continue to decline year over as sales are cannibalized by both iPod touch and iPhone.
But the iPod touch performed magnificently as sales grew 130% year-over-year and Oppenheimer expects the iPod touch to “grow significantly” in fiscal fourth quarter.
Over 5.2 million iPhones were sold on fiscal third quarter, 1 million of which were sold during the first three days of the iPhone 3GS launch. iPhone 3GS supply is constrained in the 18 countries its available in but won’t affect planned rollout in the rest of the 80+ countries though it may involve moving launch dates “by a few weeks here or there.”
The iPhone and iPod touch so far have sold 45 million units combined.
Despite the decline in sales the company says that according to research, 50% of traditional iPods purchasers are buying their iPods for the first time and NPD data shows that Apple still has over 70% of US market share, as the iPod gains momentum overseas.
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