Recent data from Amazon US suggests a noticeable dip in the sales of Quest headsets during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period of 2024 compared to the previous year, 2023.
In 2023, Amazon recorded around 170,000 Quest headsets sold during the 30-day window surrounding these major shopping events. Fast forward to 2024, sales numbers dropped to approximately 146,000, marking a 14% decrease. It’s important to note that these figures might not reflect sales trends at other retailers.
This drop is quite unexpected, especially considering Meta had just launched its upgraded Quest 3S model, slashed the price of the Quest 3, and released a high-profile game featuring Batman: Arkham Shadow, all strategically timed before the shopping frenzy.
Back in the 2023 holiday season, Meta was still focused on its older Quest 2 headset. The standout deal was the 128GB version priced at just $250, paired with a $50 gift card, effectively making it a $200 purchase.
Interestingly, that deal seemed to capture more consumer interest compared to this year’s offering. Meta was pitching the Quest 3S (128GB) at $300, alongside a $75 gift card, bringing the effective cost to $225.
Even though the price difference is slight and the Quest 3S offers impressive value for the extra $25, other factors come into play. The economic landscape, deals on rival products, and waning enthusiasm for VR overall could have influenced this trend.
When analyzing the sales ratio of Quest 3S to Quest 3 during this year’s promotional period, it remains consistent with last year’s 3:1 ratio between Quest 2 and Quest 3. This data provides interesting insights into consumer preferences amidst changing market conditions.
