The Apple iPad 2 sold 4.7 million units in the March quarter and sold millions more in the quarter before that. And yet the demand for the stylish and sexy iPad 2 is still through the roof and has been too much for Apple, which still hasn’t been able, and likely won’t be until demand dies down, to supply everybody who wants to buy one with a unit. Demand is just too high right now. Or is it?
This could very well be a case of Apple holding back supply to make it seem like the demand is higher than it actually is. If they only produce a small number of units, since fewer people will be able to buy them, then it’ll seem like everybody will want one since nobody will be able to have one. It’s simple marketing that was most likely practiced by Nintendo for example with the initial release of the Wii system five years ago.
Apple has claimed that this isn’t the case and they’re selling every iPad 2 they can produce and this is likely what is actually happening. They say it’s due to production issues but you’d think that Apple would be more prepared since all of their gadgets seem to sell like hotcakes. In case you didn’t realize, everybody has iPods but the Zune is dead.
There’s very little chance Apple would risk infuriating and driving away the market when there are new competitors like the Nook Color. The iPad is also competing against laptops, PCs and the e-readers like the Amazon Kindle as well so there’s little to no chance they’re holding back stock to increase perceived demand. Basically .1% and even that may be too high. But it really makes you wonder…
