Pre Orders Pile Up as Social Buzz Dies Down: Do Early Sales of the Apple Watch Ensure Success?
The availability of the Apple Watch for pre order was met with excitement and vigor from Apple fans. The smartwatch will be made available on April 24, but not everyone who pre ordered the wearable will get it then. It has been reported that “within six hours,” the Apple Watch “was no longer available for a April 24 delivery date.”[1] While some say that the strong sales of the first weekend “could indicate success for the device,”[2] that is not a guarantee. Sales numbers do not lie, but looking to the social buzz around the pre order launch tells a different story. Buzz about the Apple Watch dropped after a small peak on the 10th to levels lower than before the watch was available for pre order.
Die-hard Apple fans flooded the company with pre orders, but then the mentions of the device died down quickly. Sustained success requires sustained interest, and though the Apple Watch has been seeing isolated spikes in interest corresponding with product milestones, discussion is not being sustained. Even the issues surrounding the backlog did not seem to excite enough watchers and buyers to share their frustrations on social media.
Only time will tell how the Apple Watch will affect the wearables market, and Argus Insights will be waiting and watching. Take a look at our report on the evolution of social buzz in anticipation of the Apple Watch, and keep an eye out for our official Apple Watch Launch Report, to be made available on Monday, May 4th,, data willing, where we will look to actual consumer reviews to anticipate future success based on early adopters and identify which features are delighting consumers to drive that adoption.
[1] http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2015/0413/Apple-Watch-pre-orders-explode-as-wait-times-drag-into-June
[2] http://www.cnet.com/news/all-signs-point-to-1-million-apple-watch-preorders-analyst-says/
