Amazon’s U.S. sales figures indicate that Quest headsets didn’t perform as strongly this Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024 as they did in 2023. Last year, about 170,000 units were snapped up in the 30-day window around these shopping events. Fast forward to the same period in 2024, and the numbers tell a different story, dropping to approximately 146,000 units—an eye-opening 14% dip. It’s important to note that these numbers are focused on Amazon and might not reflect other retailers’ experiences.
Interestingly, you’d think sales would have climbed, given that Meta unveiled the enhanced Quest 3S, trimmed the Quest 3’s price, and premiered a highlight game set in Batman’s universe—Batman: Arkham Shadow—just in time for the shopping frenzy. In 2023’s holiday rush, Meta was still pushing its aging Quest 2 headset. That year, the most popular 128GB model was effectively slashed to $200, thanks to a $250 price tag paired with a $50 gift card.
This older deal seemed to resonate more with buyers than this year’s attempt to move the Quest 3S. Despite a deal putting the 128GB model at $300 with a $75 gift card—making it essentially $225—the slightly higher price didn’t yield the anticipated results. Yet, purely on value, the Quest 3S is a steal for the mere $25 difference. Of course, price alone isn’t the only game-changer. Broader economic factors, attractive deals on rival products, and shifting interest in VR all played their part.
The sales ratio for Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024 also mirrored the previous year’s balance between Quest models, with the 3S outselling the 3 by a margin of around 3:1, matching the Quest 2 and Quest 3 ratio seen in 2023.
