PC Sales Shifting To VARs

By Mike Sachoff
Staff Writer
Article Date: 2009-06-05

More PC consumers prefer to purchase computers through retail, VARs and direct market resellers, according to market research firm Gartner.

That trend is set to continue and Gartner expects that 80 percent of PC shipments will go through an indirect channel by 2012.

"The direct sales channel is still showing customer preference in certain segments such as enterprise, government and education and some professional segments in mature markets," said Tiffani Bova, research vice president at Gartner.

"However, strong consumer and small office/home office (SOHO) market growth will lead to consistent growth for the retail channel, and we can expect to see growth from a variety of nontraditional PC retailers such as Wal-Mart and Price Club in the U.S. and Carrefour and Courts in Asia/Pacific."

Direct market resellers (DMRs) will be the fastest-growing indirect sales channel, but the market size will be relatively small at less than 5 percent of the total market by 2012 and will continue to play a crucial role in any PC manufacturers go-to-market (GTM) model, especially in the U.S.

Gartner said that the burgeoning indirect channel will be driven by strong growth of products focused on the home and small and midsize customers in both mature and emerging markets that show a preference for purchasing via indirect channels (retail and VAR).

SMBs prefer a combination of both the direct and indirect sales channel when purchasing PCs, although the smaller the business the more buyers prefer the indirect channel, including VAR and DMR (in the U.S.) channel, due to price, availability and pre- and post-sales support.

"With predictions of an unprecedented PC market slowdown in 2009, how PC manufacturers keep demand and brand loyalty high will come down to the attention spent on GTM and account coverage initiatives," Ms. Bova said. "Shoring up partnerships with channel companies (retail, VAR and TSP) and distributors has the ability to provide tremendous competitive advantage."

About the Author:
Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.