Lack of Macworld Fuels Apple’s Holiday Sales

Ever since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, Apple has introduced its largest and best-selling products in January from the iMac to the iPod shuffle at Macworld, one of the largest Apple expos in the world. However, because of Apple’s recent decision not to appear at Macworld from 2010 beyond, the likelihood of Apple releasing a product in January has diminished significantly. 

Up until this year, Apple followers have almost never bought Apple branded merchandise during the holiday season with the fear that a product refresh was on the way from Steve Jobs a month later. With Macworld now no longer a threat for obsoletism, Apple users are now free to purchase a new Mac, iPod, or iPhone without worry. It is then without a doubt that Apple will be reporting a record quarter this holiday season.

If any timeframe would be an indication of a strong holiday season for Apple (or for the entire industry, for that matter), it would be from Black Friday, one of the largest shopping days in the United States. From personal experience, Black Friday this year was a much more worthwhile experience than from years before. No longer did I have to wait outside an electronics store at 2am for a USB flash drive or a DVD box set, but rather for a netbook and hard drive. The technology industry is slashing prices at a decent discount, and consumers are responding appropriately. Cyber Monday and the holiday season in its entirety will, rest assured, contribute more to consumer spending and (hopefully!) bring the world out of a recession.

Apple, while its online and retail stores have traditionally held unexciting Black Friday discounts (10% off? No thanks), also enjoyed a record amount of sales this weekend, regardless. On my visits to the Apple Retail Stores last weekend, these stores were packed. Everyone seems to want to try out and buy an Apple product. Macs and iPhones are currently the “in” product this holiday season alongside the HTC Hero and several other products. Third-party Apple Resellers online are selling products at unheard of discounts as well, with MacMall, MacConnection, Amazon, and many others slashing prices and offering bundles. In the end, these sales all go back to Apple and its supporting third party companies. With no Macworld in an Apple fanboy’s mind and the world economy slowly recovering, they will only contribute to Apple’s sales this holiday season and once again bring out a record quarter.