Amazon’s Quest Black Friday Sales Volume in 2023 May Have Underperformed

Sales data from Amazon US reveals that Quest headsets didn’t quite hit the mark over Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024 compared to the previous year, 2023.

Taking a closer look, Amazon’s numbers show that in 2023, around 170,000 Quest headsets were sold during the 30-day period surrounding the shopping extravaganza. However, in 2024, sales dipped to approximately 146,000 units, marking a 14% decline. It’s important to note, though, that this data might not reflect the trends at other retail outlets.

This is somewhat unexpected, especially since Meta had just rolled out the new and improved Quest 3S, slashed the price of the Quest 3, and released a major game featuring a familiar franchise, Batman: Arkham Shadow, just in time for Black Friday.

Back in the 2023 holiday season, Meta was still offering their then-aging Quest 2 headset. The Black Friday deal for the most popular 128GB version of the Quest 2 set it at $250, accompanied by a $50 gift card, effectively pricing the headset at $200.

Interestingly, that deal from 2023 seemed to resonate more with buyers than this year’s offer. In 2024, Meta focused on the Quest 3S, offering the 128GB model for $300 with a $75 gift card, leading to an effective price of $225.

From a purely value-focused perspective, the Quest 3S offers a lot more for just an extra $25. But as any savvy shopper knows, price isn’t the only factor influencing purchasing decisions. Broader economic conditions, competitive deals, and the evolving interest in VR technology play crucial roles too.

As for the sales dynamic between the Quest 3S and Quest 3 during this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the split hovered around 3:1, echoing the pattern seen between Quest 2 and Quest 3 sales in 2023.