Press Release
Further decline predicted as consumers look towards converged technology23rd May, 2007 - The PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) market is in terminal decline as more people turn to Smartphones as an alternative, according to research revealed today by GfK. The first quarter 2007 saw the volume of PDA sales decline by 35%, and value decline by 43%, year-on-year. Total sales of PDAs in this quarter reached 37,000, with a value of £7mn, compared to £19mn spent by UK consumers on Smartphones.
The PDA market has been declining since 2004, when mobile phones began offering wider features, such as camera, email and MP3. Unit sales fell by 41% to 185,000 and value 50% to £36mn in 2006, compared to 2005. Conversely sales of Smartphones during this period rose 35% and unit sales reached 710,000 with a value of £100mn.
The peak for PDA sales is Christmas, when the average selling price falls. For example Christmas 2006 saw prices decline by an average of £23, meaning the average price was £161. Comparatively the average price of a Smartphone in 2006 was £138, due to network subsidies, and the consumer received far more functionality from it.
Over the past two years the majority of PDA sales were through mass merchandisers – the presence of consumer electronic stores within this market has faded as retailers are taking PDAs out of their stores meaning they are no longer visible to consumers to generate interest.
Sales of PDAs with built in GPS functionality did rise in 2005, yet by 2006 the decline of this market segment was already visible as mobile and Smartphones with GPS became available.
Sandra Bayly, Account Manager GfK states that “We will see a further decline, of approximately 20%, in the PDA market throughout 2007 due to replacement technologies, such as Smartphones and mobile phones. Convergence of technologies into one device, offering solutions such as connectivity, organiser, MP3, Bluetooth, WiFi and camera and voice functionality have negated the need for an additional PDA. Our research indicates that sales of Smartphones will rise by a further 30% in 2007, reaching 920,000 unit sales.”
