Apple’s iPad has had a massive impact on the local market, so much so, that retailers in South Africa have noted an increase in sales of the device, which has led to the decline in the sale of PCs and laptops.
“It appears the sales of iPad and iPad2, while they have been great, have negatively affected sales of our other products, in quite a major fashion. So while the arrival of iPads can be welcomed, at the end of the day they haven’t acted to add that much to our overall revenue,” Christopher Riley, managing director of notebook and accessories at The Notebook Company told News24.com
Riley added that he thought iPad would replace mobile devices, while laptops would replace PC – but that has not been the case. “I really felt that they would find their own niche in the market, rather than replacing other sales. But, in our experience, this is not happening”.
Although The Notebook Company’s sample size might consist of a high number of mobile users, Riley notes that there is a definite decline in PC sales, and it will continue to decline in the coming years.
“No matter how you look at it, less and less people and companies are going to go out there and actively shop for desktops. They will naturally have their place, but not at the rate of before. The sales curve for PCs will drop consistently over the next few years”.
“Shipments made by the top three PC makers including Dell, Acer and HP all dropped in the first quarter compared with the same period last year,” Gartner and IDC reported.
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech Editor
