If you're trying to find an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max this holiday season, you might have a really tough time doing so.
One popular place that customers visit to check out the latest and greatest cell phones is Best Buy. The technology retailer has a huge presence in the United States and elsewhere so it's a natural place that many may turn to this holiday season if they find that the iPhone they want is sold out at their local Apple Store or wireless carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
However, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry says that they might not have the phone you're looking for this year. On a media call, Barry said that "one of the places where we're seeing a bit of (inventory) pressure is in those higher-end iconic iPhone devices."
You'll have more luck with an iPhone 14 Plus
Barry's prediction seems to be panning out. Media outlet Reuters made a trip to a Best Buy in the Bronx in New York and, like the CEO mentioned, the store was completely sold out of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Michael Phillips, a supervisor at the store, said that it takes at least two weeks to get new phones into the store when the company places an order with Apple for them.
Phillips said that "we lose a lot of customers because of that. You're not going to settle for something that doesn't have the specs you want."
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has estimated that Apple will sell over eight million units of the iPhone 14 lineup over Black Friday weekend this year. If that pans out, it will be a 25% decrease over last year with the iPhone 13 lineup., Ives attributes the potential decrease to the lack of inventory due to supply chain issues, saying that Apple Stores are expected to have about 25% less inventory when compared to a year ago.
Barry also weighed in on consumer behavior and financial strain with growing inflation, saying that "across consumers, we can also see that savings are being drawn down and credit usage is going up. Value clearly matters to everyone."
