Apple Crowds U.S. Watch Market, Depressing Sales to Seven Year Low

Move over traditional timepieces, the Apple (AAPL) Watch is here. U.S. watch sales dropped to their lowest level in seven years in June, as the iPhone maker encroaches into the accessories space with its latest smartwatch. Retailers saw an 11% year-over-year drop in watch sales for the month of June to $375 million, according to analysts at NPD Group. The firm says unit sales declined by 14%, marking the biggest drop since 2008. Analysts add that watch buyers may be shelling out more for an Apple Watch than traditional watches. Consumers are opting to pay up for the Apple Watch which starts from $349 for the most basic model to $17,000 for an 18-karat gold version. NPD notes that the traditional watches with the highest risk are those with accessible price points of between $100 and $150. That particular category saw the biggest decline of 24%. TheStreet's Kurumi Fukushima reports in New York.