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Black Friday's online sales were up 35% year over year, and early reports for Cyber Monday put the gain at 19.6%. Amazon (AMZN), as an online pure-play, has felt a lift from both these factors, but its execution in the e-reader category can't be ignored. While Sony (SNE) and Barnes & Noble (BKS) have already sold out of their respective devices, effectively taking them out of the game until early next year, Amazon's Kindle continues to fly off the shelves.
So, what's the prize for effective forecasting and a supply chain that can delivery on it? A new record!
Amazon had its best Kindle month yet in 2009, though it wouldn't reveal how many of the devices it has moved or the revenue it's pulled in from these sales. All it would say is that some buyers were buying more than one Kindle at a time, and businesses and organizations were picking them up in volume for employees or clients.
The lost revenue for Barnes & Noble and Sony may not be the enduring result of their respective e-reader debacles this year. As the category was starting to take off, both were grounded, unable to deliver on customer demand. So, the chance to yank some market share from Amazon, the industry leader, has gone unexploited.
Even more interesting is that the two competitors basically wound up marketing for Amazon. The hype that went into the new product launches for Barnes & Noble and Sony has ticked demand for e-readers higher, but there's only one place for the customers to go: Amazon.
In the meantime, the lost opportunity has complicated life for Barnes & Noble. Now, it's shipping Nook devices to customers who pre-ordered ... at the expense of its retailers. And, it's had to lower its full-year earnings forecast because it expected the holiday seas to be brutal, and it's had to amp up its spending to speed up Nook production.
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