Black Friday sales of Apple’s MacBook were flat when compared to last year, and sales of Windows-based notebooks dropped 10%, despite the launch and heavy promotion of Windows 8.
The NPD Group announced on Tuesday that U.S. consumer electronics retail sales for Black Friday declined 5.6 percent, which was a steeper than anticipated drop. NPD’s tracking of consumer electronics excludes Apple’s iPad, as well as Kindle products, Microsoft Surface, mobile phones and video games.
The data, which covered retail sales from November 18th through the 24th, saw sales of Windows-based notebooks down 10% from a year ago, with Apple notebook sales staying flat.
Devices that ran Windows 8 represented 89% of notebook sales with an average selling price of $368, while touchscreens accounted for 3% of sales with an average selling price of $668.
While sales were down 10% from a year ago, revenue was down only 5% due to the average selling price of notebooks increasing from $437 in 2011 to $460 in 2012.
Sales of MP3 players and point-and-shoot cameras were down sharply, as consumers have grown to rely on devices such as smartphones for their music and photo-taking needs.
