Apple feels the pinch as recession bites

Apple saw flat Mac sales in the US retail market throughout November

Apple is beginning to feel the effects of the economic crisis, according to new research from retail sales tracking firm NPD Group.

NPD reported flat Mac sales in the US retail market throughout November, after a year of soaring sales.

The data indicated that the poor sales performance could be due to a 38 per cent fall in the popularity of desktops in the US last month.

Apple's desktop unit share was down last month to 15.8 per cent from 17.4 per cent in October and 20.6 per cent in November 2007, noted the research.

While US notebook sales were up in November by 16.6 per cent overall, Apple's unit share decreased from its December figures.

However, NPD pointed to the high Mac sales in October being due to the introduction of new Macbooks.