As we come up to the last days of fee-free merchant services from Google Checkout, the Official Google Checkout Blog announced yesterday that they now have Google Checkout Trends. Patterned after Google Trends, GCT shows relative revenues from Google Checkout merchants.
But let me just say: either Google Checkout merchants are atypical (likely) or something is really off here.
Just take a look at the comparison between revenue from the Zune (blue) and the iPod (red):
Just as a reminder, revenue is price x quantity sold (as GCT reminds you when you use it). So, on the day after Thanksgiving, Zune’s relative revenue was $64.65 and the iPod’s was $6.28. Uh huh. Somehow, I just don’t think the announcement of the Zune 2 would be enough to keep the Zune’s revenue that much higher than the iPod’s for nearly a month.
But, like I said, maybe it’s just that Google Checkout merchants are weird. Maybe Microsoft started using them. . . .
Let’s try another, shall we? Here is the iPhone (orange), the Blackberry (red) and the Razr (blue):
Odd. . . You’d think with all those sales, we would be seeing a ton more iPhones than Blackberries.
This data also contravenes the basic laws of economics—that as price increases, demand decreases. There are lots of Blackberries and Razrs out there for less than $400. They may not have the same chic as the iPhone, but they also don’t all come with AT&T. (Can I call the economics police now?)
My favorite part: sales of all of these electronics are down throughout December. I mean, sure, most people like to pick out their own phones, but no MP3 players as gifts? Man, these people are as cheap as I am. Though I could have sworn that comScore reported that consumer electronic sales were up 23% last year. . . .
Wait, who am I kidding? This data is from Google! It must be true!
