18th January 2008 – The UK IT market will remain strong in the first quarter of 2008 despite worsening conditions on the high street, predicts GfK today.
GfK cites its own research which shows that in December 2007, almost 50% more laptops were sold than December 2006. This means that, for the first time, laptop sales are nearing 1 million units per month. Within the market, it is department stores and supermarkets that are reporting exceptional sales, with specialist retailers only reporting modest growth.
Anthony Norman, Business Group Director for IT research at GfK said: “It’s clear many retail sectors are suffering from the downturn in the economy. However, the IT sector, and in particular the PC market, remains strong driven by good deals and promotional activity that the consumer has not been able to resist.”
Looking towards the first quarter of 2008 Norman predicts: “The constant entry to market of new technology, coupled with a continued move towards a mobile lifestyle, means I expect to see the IT sector remain strong for the first quarter, with laptops the key driver.”
Britain’s love affair with laptops
Much of the recent growth (47% for the last quarter by volume) within mobile PC devices has been fuelled by market promotions such as the “Free Laptop” deals being offered by many retailers in exchange for signing up to a broadband contract.
Non-Specialist retailers are the fastest growing sector of the market for Mobile PCs with unit sales in December up 127% year-on-year.. These retailers also have the highest mix of mobile PC sales, with 83% of their units sold being mobile PC, with the remainder being traditional desktop models.
The increasing trend of non-specialist stores entering the IT and Consumer Electronic market is ensuring that the consumers are getting a fantastic deal and that the distribution of these products is wider than ever before. (Average price decrease = 10% for 2007 versus 2006)
