“After
a slow start, aggressive pricing and robust selection drove significant volumes
towards the end of the Back-to-School season, making it a very strong year. Due
to the success of the aggressive Windows notebook pricing during Back-to-School
we could see a much more aggressive pricing strategy this holiday season as the
seemingly stable PC volume environment emboldens the PC OEMs and the OS and chip
suppliers to make a grab for market share while the industry remains relatively
steady”
NPD Group exec Stephen
Baker commenting on recent stats PC sales for the 2014 Back to School Season in
the US of A which starts in August 2014 to September 2014
Some
recent Stats from the NPD group as well as American Customer Satisfaction Index
go a long way to explaining the longevity of the Desktop computer.
According
to NPD Group, PC sales rose by 3% during the 2014 Back to School Season in the
US of A which starts in August 2014 to September 2014 as stated in the article “PC
SALES SPIKE DURING BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON, LED BY MACS AND CHROMEBOOKS”, published
September 26, 2014 By Konrad Krawczyk, DigitalTrends.
The
PC marketshare for the 2014 Back to School Season in the US of A which starts
in August 2014 to September 2014 was divided among three contenders as follows:
1.
26.8% went to in Apple Macs
2.
4.5% went to in Chomebooks and
Chromeboxes
3.
68.4% went to Windows OS Computers
This
is an improvement on the marketshare figures during 2013 Back to School Season
in the US of A which starts in August 2013 to September 2013:
1.
24.2% went to in Apple Macs
2.
3.3% went to in Chomebooks and
Chromeboxes
3.
72.3% went to Windows OS Computers
Thus
comparing the figures above, Apple Macs, Chomebooks and Chromeboxes saw their overall
marketshare increase while the Windows PC market suffered a decline. Apple Mac
and Chromebooks are increasing popular with American high schools, as many opt
to purchase these Cloud-based Laptops that offer the performance of more expensive
Windows computers, need Wi-Fi due to their content being stored in the Cloud.
Their
improving Hardware with the US$299 Acer Chromebook 13 by Acer now sporting a
Nvidia K1 Processor as detailed in my blog article entitled
“US$299
Acer Chromebook 13 by Acer - How Nvidia K1 Processor Under the Hood means that
Cloud Gaming on the Horizon by 2017” make them a value buy for students who
like the collaborative nature of work that these Laptops can achieve.
Therefore,
it should come as no surprise which computer led the charge; chromebooks which
according to analyst Gartner are expected to hit 5.2 million in sales by the
end of 2014 as I'd stated in my blog article entitled
“Chromebooks
Sales to Triple by 2017 – How Rapid Sales Heaven for PC Makers means Apple iPad
and Microsoft Surface Pro 3 under attack”.
The
NPD Group stats tell a similar tale for the PC Industry but over the 2014 Back
to School Season in the US of A which starts in August 2014 to September 2014
1.
16% increase in Apple Macbook
2.
12% increase in Desktop computers
3.
32% increase in chromebooks
NPD Stats say PC’s up
3% - ACSI says Americans prefer PC's as Performance Guaranteed
So
why the sudden rise?
This
seem to be the same conclusion arrived at by the ACSI
(American Customer Satisfaction Index)
as stated in the article “CONSUMERS
ARE MORE SATISFIED WITH DESKTOP PCS THAN LAPTOPS, TABLETS, STUDY SAYS”,
published September 24, 2014 By Konrad Krawczyk, DigitalTrends.
According
to the ACSI on a scale of 0 to 100:
1.
76 for Laptops a decline of 4%
2.
80 for Tablets, an increase of 1%
3.
81 for Desktop PC's, an increase of 3%
When
broken down by brand, Apple comes out as the winner:
1.
84 for Apple
2.
82 for Samsung, Asus and Lenovo et al
3.
76 for Acer
4.
76 for Dell
5.
75 for Toshiba
6.
74 for Hewlett-Packard
ACSI
exec Claes Fornell for the shift suggests that people are moving on to better,
brighter and shinier gadgets, quote: “The increase in customer satisfaction for
PCs could mean two different things. Either the product is seen as more
attractive now and is poised for a comeback, or it has higher customer
satisfaction simply because those who were less than happy with it have moved
to other devices. If dissatisfied customers leave and satisfied customers stay,
average satisfaction may well go up”.
Probably
too, the novelty of portability of Tablets is wearing off. Many may be realizing
that the albeit portable and great for watching YouTube video, Tablets, especially
Google Android Tablets, aren't great for Collaborative work or
Content-Creation.
For
that you need a Desktop or a Laptop computer. A renaissance of sorts is taking
place where customer are rediscovering Desktop PC, which have markedly improved
and are now much smaller and Quieter.
Heck,
even I’ve used the Desktop PC in the Learning Commons in the Library at MICO University College while doing my Professional
Diploma in Teaching and they perform way better than my laptop, which needs
constant maintenance to keep it going.
Also
overall Desktop and Chromebook computers are much cheaper, usually in the range
of US$299 to US$399 as they’re not mobile and due to their declining
popularity, PC makers had to offer steep discounts to make units sell.
So
does this mark the Return of the Mac as Americans become more interested in
riding on the Cloud based Chrome OS? We’ll really know where the chips lay come
Christmas 2014 when further price drops are expected and sales numbers will
reflect who is the most loved of them all as the PC's slowly make a comeback!
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