Excited to add a Sonos to your home this Christmas? Looking for a deal on Black Friday on a Sonos Arc for the living room or a Sonos Roam for the outdoors? Sadly, supply chain issues along with a chip shortage are going to put a wrinkle in those plans.
Sonos has announced price increases on some of its most popular speakers. The rise varies by product and country – the Roam portable speaker is now $10 (£20 , AU$20) more, while the Sub subwoofer has had a price hike of $50 (£149, AU$100).
In an official statement, Sonos said it is always assessing market dynamics, “including demand, supply chain, component costs and the competitive landscape”. Which suggests that the chip shortage has reared its ugly head at the worst possible time.
Having visited 3 Best Buy locations in New Jersey and New York over the past 3 weeks, we’ve noticed that inventories are low and that Sonos models don’t last very long when put out on the shelves. Supply and demand at work here but the price increases are not some conspiracy by the brand to empty your wallet.
We’ve had an opportunity to review prices for around 50 popular consumer A/V products and compared them to the same period in 2020. Denon and Marantz were more expensive across the board and we’re starting to see prices for loudspeakers rise as well.
Not chips this time. Container prices.
Consumers are seemingly fine with products made overseas but those products need to make their way across the Pacific Ocean and container prices are 4-5 times higher in 2021.
Below are the affected products, along with their price increase and new price.
- Sonos Arc: was £799, ($799, AU$1399); now £899 ($899, AU$1499); increase £100 ($100, AU$100)
- Sonos Sub: was £600 ($699, AU$999); now £749 ($749, AU$1099); increase £149 ($50, AU$100)
- Sonos Amp: was £599 ($599, AU$999); now £699 ($699, AU$1099); increase £100 ($100, AU$100)
- Sonos One: was £179 ($199, AU$299); now £199 ($219, AU$319); increase £20 ($20, AU$20)
- Sonos One SL: was £149 ($149, AU$269); now £179 ($199, AU$289); Increase £30 ($50, AU$30)
- Sonos Five: was £499 ($499, AU$749); now £499 ($549, AU$799); increase £0 ($50, AU$50)
- Sonos Roam: was £159 ($169, AU$279); now £179 ($179, AU$299); increase £20 ($10, AU$20)
For more information: Sonos.com
