Australian PC market declines

Gartner shows 2.9% drop in PC sales

The Australian PC market declined by 2.9 percent in the second quarter of 2009 from the same quarter in 2008 but increased 11.1 percent from last quarter, according to quarterly shipment results from Gartner.

Gartner said that whilst the total number of PC shipments was down, the decline will remain relatively modest primarily due to the Federal Government’s economic stimulus program.

Looking ahead, the technology research and advisory firm believes the best PC sales opportunities in Australia will come from the consumer, small and midsized business (SMB) and education sectors, spurred by internal demands and beneficial conditions supported by the Federal Government.

Eileen He, research analyst for client computing markets at Gartner said that while the Australian PC market was affected by the economic downturn, as were other mature markets in Asia Pacific, opportunities still exist in several sectors.

“PC vendors that rely heavily on the professional or enterprise market should allocate more resources to SMBs and the education sector, including channel, product, service and financing options during the next 18 months,” said He.

“Vendors that rely mostly on retail sales need to consider more attractive promotions to stimulate spending from consumer and SMB buyers. This could include higher cash-back, device or component bundling, and competitive prices and terms for PC leasing,” said He.

With telecoms service providers representing one of the fastest-growing channels for mini-notebook sales in Asia Pacific, Gartner believes vendors should look into alternative channels, such as telecom retailers, to resell mobile PCs, and work with telecom service providers on bundling and subsidising PCs with broadband plans. For example, Vodafone currently cooperates with PC vendors on mini-notebook bundling sales in Australia.