Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Top Scoops

Book Reviews | Gordon Campbell | Scoop News | Wellington Scoop | Community Scoop | Search

 

How (and why) New Zealand bucks worldwide PC sales trend

New Zealand PC sales surged in 2014. IDC’s Asia/Pacific Quarterly PC Tracker unit reports sales grew almost 16 percent during the year. That total zoomed past IDC’s already bullish forecast.

New Zealanders snapped up 774,400 units in 2014. We purchased 218,000 units in the fourth quarter alone.

The research company forecasts 2015 will be another bumper year. It says entry-level laptops and Chromebooks will lead the way.

IDC’s Auckland-based market analyst Arunachalam Muthiah says there was growth in both the consumer and commercial segments.

He says the move from Windows XP and refreshes were the main drivers in the commercial market. Meanwhile Chromebook sales pushed things along in the education sector. Muthiah said ultrasmall desktops also showed strong performance.

Aggressive price promotions tempted consumers to bring out their wallets. There was a strong demand for entry-level notebooks and he says a saturated tablet market also helped PC sales.

PC prices reached all-time lows during 2014. In part this is thanks to the strong New Zealand dollar. For the first time useable machines hit the shelves with price tags below NZ$400.

This suggests that while unit numbers surged in 2014, sales revenues and profit margins might not have been so hot.

Top 5 New Zealand PC Vendors, 2010 - 2014 (Share in
Units)

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Hewlett-Packard strengthened its position as New Zealand’s top PC brand with Acer in second place. Apple was third while Dell and Toshiba took out the fourth and fifth places respectively.

Dell’s business grew, but at a slower rate than the other four who all enjoyed big gains during 2014. It is now only a little in front of Toshiba and sixth-placed Lenovo.

Top 5 Vendors, New Zealand PC Shipments Fourth Quarter
2014


This post first appeared at billbennett.co.nz as How (and why) New Zealand bucks worldwide PC sales trend

© Scoop Media

 
 
 
Top Scoops Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.