BlackBerry PlayBook sales miss targets by over 90% at major retailer, ‘much higher’ return rate than XOOM
According to a trusted source from a major big box retailer, sales of RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook have fallen far short of expectations. In addition, we're told that the PlayBook …
Context & Ripple Effects
The PlayBook reached shelves in April 2011 after a rocky runway: analysts had flagged battery issues that could delay the launch as far back as December 2010, and RIM settled on a $499 price for the 16GB model bound for Office Depot that February. Just five days before this report, RIM confirmed recalling at least 900 faulty PlayBooks shipped to Staples — reviewers found the hardware itself solid apart from the bad batch.
Against that backdrop, BGR cites a single trusted source at one major big-box retailer claiming PlayBook sales missed targets by over 90% with a return rate 'much higher' than Motorola's XOOM. The claim is unconfirmed by RIM and drew no syndicated pickup or public discussion at the time, so it reads as a directional signal about channel demand rather than official sell-through data — but landing so soon after the recall, it compounds the sense that the launch is stalling at retail.
First-order effects
- If the reported miss is representative, big-box partners are sitting on slow-moving PlayBook stock at the $499 price point set in February, days after RIM's recall of 900-plus faulty units dented channel confidence.
- RIM's tablet narrative flips from product quality — where reviewers gave the hardware credit despite the bad batch — to demand failure, putting direct pressure on the company's tablet guidance story.
Second-order effects
- Retail buyers now hold leverage over RIM: a claimed return rate above the XOOM's gives chains a concrete comparison point for negotiating smaller reorders, markdowns, or reduced shelf space.
- Motorola gains by contrast — the XOOM's own tepid reception becomes the benchmark the PlayBook falls below, reshaping which 'iPad alternative' carriers and retailers back next.
Third-order effects
- If premium-priced non-Apple tablets keep missing sell-through targets, RIM's first tablet risks becoming a write-down rather than a growth platform, deepening questions about a company simultaneously reworking its phone line around the newly announced BlackBerry 7 OS.
- Sustained misses would push big-box retail toward allocating scarce tablet shelf space more conservatively, raising the bar any new entrant must clear to get distribution.
The trend: The PlayBook's reported sell-through collapse fits 2011's emerging pattern of iPad rivals launching at premium price points and struggling to find retail demand, testing whether RIM's enterprise credibility transfers to consumer hardware.