“ChangeWave’s latest survey on consumer PC buying shows weaker demand for the holidays – yet there are also positive signs,” Paul Carton reports for Seeking Alpha.
“Just one year ago, 11% of respondents planned to buy a laptop in the next 90 days, compared to only 8% in the latest survey. A similar drop has occurred for desktops, with 8% planned buyers last November dropping to just 6% currently,” Carton reports.
“Midst the bad news, Apple and its newly revamped MacBook line are still managing to gain traction with consumers,” Carton reports.
“The new Apple MacBooks feature aluminum unibody enclosures and improved graphics, as well as glass multi-touch trackpads – and 7% of respondents now say they’re likely to buy one over the holidays,” Carton reports. “In addition, another 6% say they’re likely to purchase the traditional White MacBook Laptop, which Apple recently lowered the price on to $999.”
Carton reports, “Overall, one-in-three respondents (33%) plan to buy an Apple laptop over the next 90 days – up 4-pts since September – while 27% plan to buy an Apple desktop, a 1-pt increase.”
“Moreover, the uptick for Apple is occurring in the context of a rapidly shrinking PC market,” Carton reports. “Nonetheless it’s not easy to increase market share right during the worst spending environment in years. Thanks to their refreshed line of MacBooks, Apple is doing just that.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl H.” for the heads up.]
Bloodbath?
My new MacBook Pro arrived yesterday. Sweet!
I just hooked up the FW 800 cable, fired up the migration assistant and was up and running in < 2 hrs.
I dont think it really has anything at all to do with a refresh in anything at all… People want an Apple computer because they are better and they are starting to finally see the better part of getting one over some craptastic PC. Sure making them look better and better each time does help but I think its the move to intel that was the biggest move which allows windows to run native.
In other news 2 out of 3 people just lost their job so the need for any new computer be it mac or pc based is non exsistent.
Perhaps the PC downtick is due to companies (and users) are making due in a difficult economy and a new computer is not high on the list of needs. Once things turn around you will see growth all around and Apple will still be in their 9-15% market share slot.
Just sorted my sister with a White MacBook — plenty for her and a handy discount into the bargain.
Nice machine, though the keyboard’s a little squidgy for my MacBookPro taste.
PomPom Squad,
U.S. unemployment rate is currently 6.7%.
5% is the baseline and indicates full employment for those who wish to be employed.
Therefore, 1.7 out of 100 people in the U.S. are currently unemployed, not “2 out of 3.”
There’s a massive discrepancy between the fantasy numbers/story that you’ve concocted and actual reality.
Just helped a business buy it’s second Mac last night. And more to come, probably around 6 eventually! haha!
And don’t forget, if you get a new Mac for Christmas, sell your old Mac cheap to a switcher who can’t decide, or let them “borrow” it for awhile. I often give my 4 or 5 year old Macs away to a switcher. They often think it runs faster than the newer, but infested PC they’ve grown to hate.
@PomPom Squad
Bet your “2 out of 3” figure will automatically be changed to “2 out of 300” when the new administration is sworn in and the media turn the spin around.
But I really do like your “perhaps” disclaimer in the second paragraph. Like most self-proclaimed prognosticators, you leave yourself an exit strategy that is both laughable and pathetic. Nothing that happens from this point on lies outside your sibylline predictions, does it?
Do keep it up. You bring mirth into our morning meditations.
Someone should tell Morgan Stanley about this. Perhaps they would raise the target price.
Bring me a new iMac 24 with the latest Intel iCore7 and I will buy it. I am still at my iMac 17″ core2duo waiting to upgrade.
I “maintain” a whole cadre of downstream consumers. Our company buys several Macs every year, and spawns them off to ex-PC users, spreading the good word.
What this article also means is that 2 out of 3 buyers either live in a cave or are as dumb as a rock.
Carton reports. “Nonetheless it’s not easy to increase market share right during the worst spending environment in years.”
Carlton is wrong. These market conditions are precisely where we see major changes in market share. It may be hard to increase sales in this economy, but a company can see its market share rise on declining sales if everyone else is declining faster.
I wish these surveys would include comparative data. How many people are planning to buy a PC in the next 90 days?
@GizmoDan
2 out of 3
@ Fred Mertz, et al.
While the unemployment rate is officially 6.7%, it does not count what are called discouraged workers – those folks whose unemployment compensation has run out and they still do not have a jog. In this economy, there are many more discouraged workers than usual. Because they are off the unemployment lists, the government has no real idea how many of them there are. It is likely the number is trending up.
Been there, done that.
The real unemployment figure is about 50% higher than reported. The number “reported” only counts those who are on full-time unemployment; it does not count those on part-time, those who just applied, or those who just fell off but are still unemployed. The real national figure is about 10%. Still that’s one in 10, not 2 out of 3. If we reach 2 out of 3 the entire country has completely collapsed and we’re under martial law.
1 out 3 people plan to buy a mac in the next 90 days.
LOL.
Look at the chart – a year ago it said the same thing. In the last year did Apple go from 5% of the computer market to 33%???
No.
Ho.ho. ho….
Meanwhile apple stock is dropping..
not ho,ho,ho for us stock owners.
This survey wasn’t by chance done outside an Apple Store was it? Or was it done outside a Windows Mojave display?
Oh Mojave-e-e-e-e!
@Wally Wallet,
If Apple’s current installed base is 8-15% (the exact number isn’t really known but probably at the high end for home users), then 33% of future PC purchases going to Apple is a 2-3 fold increase compared to historical demand.
Not anything to laugh about.
These Changewave surveys are rubbish. Remember the September survey? Because of that, Katie Huberty of Morgan Stanley, downgraded Apple stock twice last month. Now that the survey is up, do you think Katie Huberty will up her Apple price target? Heck no! She just downgraded again!
If the survey was wrong in September, how can it be right in November?
These surveys always throw so many numbers around with poorly identified baselines that they are hard to follow. But some general points seem clear.
Demand for computers is dropping.
Demand for non-Mac computers is dropping faster than demand for Macs.
Therefore, relative demand for Macs is increasing.
It demonstrates something Steve Jobs said that many analysts seem to discount. When times are tight, quality holds costumer loyalty better than crap.
“Bloodbath?”
No, because although 30% say they’re going to buy a Mac, only 3% worldwide end up actually doing it.