Consumers have already heard they won’t have a nook e-reader from Barnes & Noble nor a Daily Edition Reader from Sony in time for the holidays. Amazon is cashing in on its rivals’ blunder, reminding consumers that its Kindle is not only a hot device, but available now.
The delay in getting e-readers into the hands of consumers by Christmas is a big mistake for Barnes & Noble and Sony, analysts say. The delay will force consumers to buy from Amazon.com during what is predicted to be a busy season for e-reader sales.
Forrester Research is predicting e-reader sales of three million this year, with 30 percent of those sales in the holiday season of November and December.
“What this delay has done from a U.S. perspective is it has put Amazon in the driver’s seat because two of the strongest brands that it was going to compete with have sold out or have limited supplies,” said Jeff Orr, ABI Research’s senior analyst for mobile devices. “One of the great opportunities they had ahead of them was the use of their retail stores as a channel — early Kindle owners didn’t have that luxury.”
Barnes & Noble said it hasn’t broken any promises. “Due to the high demand, we are prioritizing our pre-orders and we continue to offer a holiday certificate to customers who want to give nook as a gift for the holiday,” said Mary Ellen Keating, a Barnes & Noble spokesperson. “We are starting to ship this week and are committed to doing everything we can to ensure everyone who ordered a nook before Nov. 20th will receive it in time for the holidays.”
Barnes & Noble announced on Nov. 20 that it was out of stock for the holidays and told customers from that point on that orders would…