MacBook Sales Decline 6% Over 2012 Holiday Shopping Season [Report]

While Wall Street analysts bet high on iPhone and iPad sales, the discount on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving Day couldn’t boost MacBook line sales, according to a recent NPD Group report (via Appleinsider).

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The Weekly Tracking Service revealed that Apple’s MacBook sales were 6% lower during the November 18 to December 22 period. A reasonable explanation could be that the only new release — among portables — before the holiday shopping season was the updated 13-inch MacBook Pro that received a Retina Display, while the rest of the MacBook line were updated in the summer.

However, Apple’s MacBook line sales decline isn’t much compared to the drop recorded by Windows PCs during the period under analysis. According to NPD’s data, the hype around Windows 8 didn’t help PCs at all, and resulted in 11% decline compared to the same period a year ago.

Overall, most consumer electronics categories struggled, but notebook computers and flat-panel TVs were the choice of consumers who spent their money during the holiday shopping season.

“Consumer electronics remain trapped in a weak product cycle,” said Stephen Baker, vice president, industry analysis at NPD. “Despite undeniable success in segments like soundbars, headphones with microphones, , interchangeable lens cameras, cellular accessories and tablets, the inability of the CE market to find substantial new pockets of revenue looms menacingly over the industry’s future.”

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