New iPod shuffle saw 50 percent sales increase in first week

Sales are aparently looking quite good for the new iPod shuffle, according to the NPD Group. Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes analyzed a recent report by NPD, and has declared that sales of the iPod shuffle rose by over 50 percent in the first week that the device was on sale, according to AppleInsider. Overall iPod sales, however, are down.

New iPod models usually give a bit of a sales bump, so the increase itself isn't too surprising. A sales increase of 51 percent during the iPod shuffle's first full week on sale is a bit more than usual, though. Sales of the device rose another 10 percent during its second week on sale. And, due to decreases in iPod nano and iPod touch sales, the iPod shuffle now accounts for about 25 percent of all iPods sold.

The overall iPod sales numbers show sales dropped by 38 percent year-on-year during the same week that iPod shuffle sales grew by 51 percent, and fell by 21 percent year-on-year the week before as well. Reitzes predicts that iPod sales for the quarter may be down 14 percent compared to the first calendar quarter of 2008, a pretty substantial decrease. He also mentions that the NPD figures don't include sales from some sources, like the online Apple Store, so it's possible that the sales numbers will still be a bit higher than analyst estimates.