Tablet sales robust despite soft economy and fears of double-dip recession

Despite the lingering recession – and doubt about its recovery and a possible double-dip recession – sales of PCs and tablets appear robust, with global PC shipment rising 12% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2012.

Christopher Riley, CEO of laptop and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company – which manages the Laptop.co.za and Notebook.co.za online retail sites – said the new Apple iPad had the biggest impact on growth rates in the quarter “from a global perspective”.

Sales of the iPads in South Africa were adversely affected due to the difficulty vendors faced when it came to securing stock. Stock shortages have plagued the local market throughout the year, said Riley.

He said iPad sales accounting for more than 40% of his company’s revenue for the year so far.

According to research company Canalys Asus and Samsung also made progress with their Transformer and Galaxy tablet product lines, with total tablets increasing by 75% to 24 million units. This represents 22% of all PCs.

Riley said he expects sales of Apple iPads to continue to account for more than 40% of The Notebook Company’s revenue during 2012.