New research report claims Pixel demand still high at Verizon stores

It’s been close to three months since Verizon Wireless started selling the Google Pixel and Pixel XL. However, it appears that there is still a lot of retail demand for the Android Nougat phones even after the busy holiday shopping period of 2016 concluded.

Fierce Wireless reports that, according to a new paper from Wave7 Research, 9.5 percent of recent sales from 50 Verizon carrier stories were for Google’s Pixel devices. It also notes that most of the regular Pixel models are still out of stock and most new shipments of the Pixel XL won’t happen until sometime in March.

Wave7 Research also noted that unlocked Pixel phones were also being regularly activated by other carriers that are not directly selling the devices. It stated, “At AT&T/T-Mobile/Sprint stores, 39% of reps (13 of 33) are aware of an average of ~2 Pixel activations each at these 13 stores.” In particular, T-Mobile reached out to those unlocked Pixel owners early on, offering them bill credits for 24 months that totaled $325 if they signed up for T-Mobile’s ONE unlimited plan.

So far, Google has yet to reveal any specific shipment numbers for the new Pixel phones. It’s possible we could get that information later this month as part of the quarterly financial statements from Google’s parent company Alphabet. Fiscal statements are scheduled to be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 26.