PC Spending Heads South

By Jim Woods and Paul Carton

U.S. consumers and businesses aren't buying PCs like they used to.

The economic downturn has taken a big bite out of personal computer demand, according to two recent ChangeWave surveys concerning consumer and corporate PC purchasing.

The results clearly show deteriorating computer spending going forward, but which manufacturers are taking the biggest hits?

---

No one can predict the future, but at ChangeWave Investing we've got the next best thing -- the ChangeWave Alliance. Made up of 15,000 strategically positioned experts, the Alliance can let you in on opportunities and risks months ahead of the crowd! Click here to learn more.

---

Next 90 Days

Consumer Spending:

Only 8% of the 4,427 consumers surveyed by ChangeWave in late February said they'd be buying a laptop in the next 90 days. That's a record low for consumer purchasing during the past 12 months.

The same trend was found for desktop computer purchases -- just 6% said they'd be buying one. This is also a low for the year.

Business Spending:

Corporate PC buying has also slowed precipitously. In February, only 73% of 2,204 corporate respondents said their company planned to buy laptops in the next quarter, which is down four points from a year ago. It's the same pattern for desktops, with corporate planned purchases down five points.

But what impact, if any, is the PC slowdown having on major manufacturers? Let's look at three heavyweights:

Apple Mac Sales Remain Strong

Planned purchases of Apple (AAPL) computers remain relatively strong, even in this slower environment.

Looking at the next 90 days, Apple remains the leader among consumers who plan to buy a laptop, with 31% -- down just two points from the all-time high recorded in our previous survey. Planned desktop purchases for Apple are also near record levels with 28%, down only one point.

1  |  2

next >>

Apple's planned purchasing numbers are up more than 50% from a year ago.

In the corporate market, planned Mac purchases for next quarter are also at near-record highs, with laptops unchanged from previously with 7% and desktops moving down just one point to 6%.

In addition, the company continues to set the standard for customer satisfaction among PC users, according to our surveys. Fifty-three percent of corporate respondents using the Leopard operating system reported they were very satisfied.

This compares with a 40% very satisfied rating for Windows XP Pro, and a miniscule 8% for Microsoft's (MSFT) Vista Business (8%).

Dell Ebbs Again

While Apple appears to be holding up, we find a far different story when it comes to Dell (DELL).

After experiencing a tiny uptick in planned consumer purchases of Dell PCs in our previous survey, they are once again losing traction going forward.

Planned purchases of Dell laptops (down two points to 28%) and desktops (down four points to 32%) were considerably weaker than in our previous survey.
Dell is also plagued by a downturn in planned corporate PC purchasing for next quarter, with desktop (down three points to 32%) and laptop (down one point to 32%) purchases falling to new lows.

Yogi Berra once said, "It's like déjà vu, all over again." And that's what it seems like as Dell resumes its market share slide.

Weakening Hewlett-Packard Computer Sales

Another major player, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), also exhibited weaker PC sales going forward. This projection is led by a big drop in consumer planned desktop and laptop purchasing.

Planned desktop purchasing has fallen five points to 18%, while planned laptop purchasing has fallen two points to 19%.

In terms of corporate planned purchases, HP also looks weaker going forward for desktops, down one point to 17%, and laptops, down two points to 14%.

Note that while Hewlett-Packard recently announced strong computer sales trends, almost 70% of its sales come from outside of the United States. The current U.S. economic slowdown is likely having less of an impact on its overall sales, while ChangeWave surveys focus mainly on the U.S. market.

Outside of the United States, HP registers higher market share numbers for consumer desktops (22%), corporate desktops (20%) and corporate laptops (17%).

Nonetheless, weaker U.S. visibility clearly seems to be an issue for Hewlett-Packard going forward.

---

Let the ChangeWave Alliance take some of the guesswork out of investing and help you grow rich. Click here to make sure you're riding the next wave to amazing profits!

---

Paul Carton is the Research Director of the ChangeWave Alliance. Jim Woods is ChangeWave's Senior Editor. The Alliance is a network of 15,000 highly-qualified business, technology and medical professionals in leading companies of select industries. The Alliance is surveyed weekly on a wide range of business and investment research and intelligence topics.

<< previous

1  |   2