ALL: PII sales picking up steam
First-Time Buyers Fuel Holiday PC Sales
(12/19/97; 10:41 a.m. EST)
By Aaron Ricadela, TechInvestor
First-time buyers continue to drive home computer
purchases as the countdown to Christmas continues.
For the week ended Nov. 28, first-time buyers
accounted for more than half the reported PC
purchases, according to the most recent weekly surveys
of household PC demand, conducted on behalf of the
Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association and
Computer Retail Week. That number climbed to 56.25
percent by the week ended Dec. 5, and bumped to 60
percent for the week ended Dec. 12. The eight-week
average for this customer set is 48.87 percent,
compared with the 43-week average of 37.27 percent.
Of 2,448 households surveyed during, the week ended
Dec. 5, 0.65 percent reported buying a computer in the
past 30 days.
For the week ended Dec. 12, 0.61 percent of 2,451
households said they'd bought a PC. The random
telephone survey was conducted by The Verity Group,
in Fullerton, Calif.
Purchasing during the past eight weeks of the survey,
representing a sample of 18,792 households, has been at
0.56 percent. Average purchasing during the 43 weeks
of the survey is 0.79 percent.
Replacement PC purchases and additional systems for
the home have declined. In the past eight weeks, 23.36
percent of the households that purchased a PC in the
past 30 days said it was a replacement. The 43-week
average is 30.79 percent. Likewise, additional system
buys are down this quarter to 19.61 percent of homes
buying an additional PC. The 43-week average for
add-on systems is 28.95 percent.
Consumer interest in purchasing a PC remains
moderate with small growth. Households saying they
were very likely to buy a PC in the next six months
dipped to 1.39 percent during the week ended Dec. 5,
but purchasing plans rose to 1.63 percent for the week
ended Dec. 12. The eight-week moving average is 1.48
percent, compared with 1.83 percent over 43 weeks.
At Computer Warehouse of Nevada in Las Vegas,
director of purchasing Christine English said consumers
have been snapping up low-end notebooks in
December, motivated by price wars and promotions
among manufacturers. Sales of loaded 266-MHz and
300-MHz Pentium II systems have increased 15-fold
since Comdex/Fall, she said.
According to the survey, household PC penetration fell
to 42 percent for the week ended Dec. 12, from 43
percent during the previous week. The eight-week
average held at 42.38 percent, while the 29-week
average was 41.21 percent of households owning a
computer.
On the consumer electronics side of the business, color
TV purchasing slid, while plans to buy were higher.
Only 1.14 percent of households during the week ended
Dec. 12 reported a purchase during the past 30 days,
compared with 1.27 percent the prior week. But 1.88
percent said they were very likely to buy in the next six
months. Purchasing plans during the previous week
were 1.57 percent. The eight-week average also moved
ahead.
VCR purchasing rose to 1.10 percent last week, though
the eight-week average level was 2.27 percent, mostly
due to a huge spike in mid-November. Purchasing plans
were sharply higher. Camcorder demand also
increased, along with plans to buy. |
