The lure of low-cost PCs
grows
By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
November 19, 1998, 5:35 p.m. PT
Plummeting PC prices are luring 50 percent more buyers
into the home PC market this holiday season than last
year, and IBM and Apple are leading the way, a study has
found.
A survey this month found that 13 percent of United States
households say they're very likely to buy a home computer, a
study by MarketMaps and Centris shows.
The biggest reason for the purchases is that people want to
further their children's education, said Bill Ablondi, author of the
survey. In addition, lots of people want to get online, and
younger adults want to make sure they can play computer
games.
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In a turnaround from last year, there are more first-time buyers
this year than repeat buyers, the survey found. A total of 55
percent of likely buyers are new to the market this year,
whereas last year households already owning a computer were
more likely buyers.
IBM is the leader in the brand people plan to buy, with 19
percent voting for Big Blue, Ablondi said. "IBM has done a good
job at building the perception that their products are not overly
expensive," he said.
The result should please IBM, which was late entering the
low-cost computer market.
However, Ablondi noted, many people say "IBM" when they
actually mean "IBM-compatible," so the true percentage of
probable IBM buyers is more likely 13 percent or so.
That's still a step ahead of Apple,
which came in at second place
with 10.5 percent planning to
purchase a Macintosh. "Apple is
clearly back in the consumer
market in a strong way," Ablondi
said, led by the novel iMac, the
perception that Apple's financial
situation has improved, and the
fact that Apple has "carved into
people's minds the fact that Macs
are easier to use."
Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and
Gateway are running
"neck-and-neck" for the next
places, he said.
However, 42 percent of buyers
still haven't decided which brand
they want, so marketing will likely
make a difference, he said.
The survey also found that nearly
a quarter of those new purchases are gifts for the holiday
season, Ablondi said, so computer makers can expect happy
holidays.
The average budget for a new PC is $1,500, Ablondi said. |
