Sales of Snapchat's camera glasses are already slowing
Snapchat/YouTube
But after a little over half a year on the market, sales are already slowing.
In its Q2 earnings report on Thursday Snap revealed it had generated $5.4 million in "other" revenue down from $8.3 million in Q1. This revenue is almost entirely generated by the sale of Spectacles. And since Spectacles sell for $130, that suggests Snap sold about 41,500 pairs of glasses during the quarter.
That's about 35% less than the roughly 64,000 pairs it sold in Q1, using the same math.
The slowing Spectacles sales raises questions about the Snapchat parent company's efforts to transform itself into a "camera" company, and it adds more uncertainty to the viability of the broader market for wearable devices. Tech giants from Google to Samsung have struggled to create a wearable gadget that truly takes off among consumers.
Spectacles first hit the market in the Fall of 2016 and were initially only sold in a few cities out of vending machines. Earlier this year, the glasses became available to customers in the US through Snap's website, but sales didn't take off like the company had hoped.
TechCrunch reported in June of this year that a second version of the glasses were in the works that would have augmented reality features built in. It's unclear whether an upgrade would entice consumers to purchase the glasses - especially if the second version came with a higher price point.
The dip in Spectacles sales came as the company discussed a less than stellar quarter. Its net loss grew to $443 million from $116 million last year, and the reported 173 million daily active users fell below the 175 million that were expected. The report send stock plunging as much as 17% in after hours trading on Thursday.
Get the latest Snap stock price here.
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