Nexus 7 sees “incredible demand”, sells out at major retailers
Summary: The Nexus 7 has already sold out at retailers such as GameStop, Staples, and Costco. Here's how you can get one. — Ed Burnette — Follow @eburnette — Introduced 3 weeks ago at Google I/O 2012 …
Context & Ripple Effects
The sellout caps a fast three-week run: GameStop began taking US pre-orders for the Nexus 7 on June 29, Staples followed with web pre-sales on July 9 ahead of stocking it in stores, and by mid-July Google was already asking retailers to pause sales as inventory ran dry. Reuters reported the tablet selling fast across retail chains a week before this sellout was confirmed.
What makes the demand signal notable is who is selling it. GameStop entered the launch from a weak position — its May quarter showed same-store sales down 5%-11% and revenue down 17% — and has been pushing into adjacent categories like SIM cards, so a hot Google tablet is exactly the kind of traffic driver its stores need.
First-order effects
- GameStop, Staples and Costco are immediately out of stock on a device only three weeks after its Google I/O 2012 introduction, pushing buyers toward whichever chain restocks first.
- Google faces an immediate fulfillment problem: after asking retailers to halt sales on July 12, it must decide whether to throttle the retail channel or let shortages persist through the launch window.
Second-order effects
- Retail partners like GameStop gain leverage from proven sell-through, strengthening their case to be first in line for future Nexus allocations at a time when their core gaming business is shrinking.
- Rival tablet makers competing for the same big-box shelf space now face a benchmark: a Google-branded device demonstrating that retail buyers will clear inventory for it, raising the bar for what staples like Staples and Costco stock next.
Third-order effects
- If launch-window sellouts become the norm for Nexus hardware, Google's retail distribution deals — rather than advertising alone — become the mechanism that decides which tablets reach mainstream US shoppers, echoing how procurement choices set de facto standards.
- Sustained shortage dynamics could push consumers toward buying directly from Google's own channel, shifting power in the hardware relationship away from brick-and-mortar partners whose margins depend on being the point of sale.
The trend: Google's Nexus program is pairing aggressive retail distribution with demand that outruns supply within weeks, making allocation among chains like GameStop, Staples and Costco a competitive battleground in itself.