Notebook sales are increasing steadily as the workforce become more mobile.
According to analyst firm IDC, PC shipments to the UK for the first quarter 2008 increased by 14.3% year on year, with the notebook market growing by 41.8%.
The quest for a more mobile workforce continues to be the driver of the UK PC market, according to the latest figures from IDC.
IDC attributed the mobile growth to a number of factors including renewals, further expansion of the installed base to new buyers and multiple-equipment purchases.
Desktop sales continued to decline, particularly in the consumer and SME sectors, as end users replace their tower/monitor/keyboard combos for notebooks.
Lucie Jichova, research analyst for IDC’s EMEA PC research group, said: “Demand for notebooks, stimulated by fierce vendor competition and aggressive pricing, will remain a key engine for growth throughout the year. Economic pressure will continue to drive cautious spending behavior, but the arrival of low-cost ultraportables, increasing traction of telco bundles, and mobile solutions in the business space, will maintain strong momentum in the notebook market in the second half of the year.”
Corporate renewals gained momentum in Q1, and healthy demand for both desktops and notebooks is expected to continue throughout the year, despite the current economic concerns. However, some sectors, such as financial services, are likely to postpone their IT investments.
Internet providers may offer free notebooks with internet subscription in order to appeal to consumers that have not owned a PC before.
According to IDC’s predictions, notebook shipment levels are set to show growth levels of 35.5% in 2008, while desktop volumes are expected to sink further, with an annual decline of 8.3%.
“Demand levels for desktops in the SME and consumer segments remain lacklustre,” added Jochova.
“In order to maintain sales volumes of consumer desktops, PC manufacturers will increasingly focus on home entertainment solutions and gaming machines. Consumers are going to benefit from attractive notebook offers as competition among vendors in the retail channel intensifies. Furthermore, the rising availability of deals that bundle Internet subscription with free notebooks will create further pressure on other channels to bring prices down.”
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