Snap’s Spectacles sunglasses may prove to be more of a fad than a must-have device. Snap revealed during its call following weak Q2 earnings that it generated $5.4 million in “Other” revenue, which would equate to around 41,500 pairs of its Spectacles camera sunglasses at a $130 price point. That’s compared to $8.3 million in Other revenue in Q1, or fewer than 64,000 pairs, meaning Spectacles sales have declined roughly 35 percent.
Snap recently began selling Spectacles on Amazon and in other companies’ retail stores, like Harrod’s, but those sales won’t show up til Q3 earnings. Snap did start selling Spectacles online and through its Snapbot vending machines in Europe for the first time back in June. That means the 41,500 number may have been propped up by this expansion, and sales in the U.S. may have slipped further.
Snap may either need a radically different, AR-equipped version 2 of Spectacles to reinvigorate interest, or it may need to look to other cameras to sell. It recently acquired Zero Robotics, a Chinese maker of the Hover selfie drone, for between $150 million and $200 million. Sources told TechCrunch today that the deal is complete. But more potential may lie in a camera people can fit in their pockets, like a 360 camera.
How can Snap dig itself out of this hole? Check out our list: 8 ways to fix Snapchat