In the U.S., nearly two and a half million guitars sold last year! And that's been the approximate annual number since 2008. Over eighteen million since 2004!!
From: http://www.musictrades.com/census.html
Total Guitar Sales
Year Units % Change $ Retail Change Avg Price
2012 2,489,390 -.9% $1,000,676,130 3.7% $403
2011 2,512,416 5.7% $934,971,450 11.4% $372
2010 2,377,310 4.6% $839,000,000 2.2% $353
2009 2,273,000 17.9% $820,746,000 21.0% $361
2008 2,341,551 20.5% $903,261,000 -1.9% $386
2007 1,942,625 11.4% $921,057,000 .13% $529
2006 1,742,498 5.6% $922,280,000 -0.1% $529
2005 1,648,595 23.3% $923,522,000 21.2% $560
2004 1,337,347 15.9% $762,185,000 9.6% $569
A Breakdown by Price Point and Product
Acoustics
Type Units
Under $100 390,028
$101 to $200 410,030
$201 to $350 110,008
$351 to $500 40,003
$501 to $1,000 40,003
$1,001 to $1,500 10,001
Over $1,501 20,001
Total 1,326,500
Electrics
Under $100 256,354
$101 to $200 561,537
$201 to $350 195,317
$351 to $600 97,659
$601 to $1,000 61,037
$1,001 to $1,250 24,415
$1251 to $1,600 13,185
$1,601 to $2,000 12,207
$2,001 to $3,000 11,229
Total 1,162,890
This article, http://www.msretailer.com/msr/guitar-sales-strumming-the-right-chords/ , has some details breaking down 2011 sales. Included is the stunning figure that in 2011, “The industry saw more than 2,850 new models introduced in the past year."
I tried to find figures for online sales but didn't come up with anything. But considering that most of the retailers have online sales, considering EBay, Craigslist, Amazon, etc. have huge lists of guitars, and acknowledging the auction houses with their collectables sales the online/guitar-untouched-by-buyer sales must be a huge percentage of the total sold. I saw an interview, now a year or two old, of Paul Reed Smith and he said online sales represented close to 50% of PRS sales.
Other tidbits I found; more but less expensive guitars were sold reflecting growing sales to schools as they added guitar to their music programs, acoustics consistently out sell electrics, and sales to boomers and middle-aged men have been growing (apparently happening in the U.K. too). Also, many retailers recently reported less guitars sold but higher profits which resulted from consolidating the store offerings, i.e., dropping lines of guitars not selling well.
"It takes a lot of devotion and work, or maybe I should say play, because if you love it, that's what it amounts to. I haven't found any shortcuts, and I've been looking for a long time."
-- Chet Atkins
-- Chet Atkins