Survey: Apple #2 Choice Among People Likely To Buy Computers In July

by , 11:30 AM EDT, July 30th, 2004

Apple scored well in July in a survey on consumer computer shopping plans. Investor's Daily Business (IBD) is reporting that 8% of consumers likely to buy a computer in July were considering a Mac, making Apple the #2 brand behind Dell. The results were part of the IBD/TIPP Home Computer Purchase Index, a monthly index of computer purchasing plans. From IBD:

Dell was the preferred brand of 50% of likely PC buyers in July. That ties its best showing ever from April.

Two brands known for multimedia capabilities scored surprisingly well. Apple Computer was the No. 2 brand for the first time. It was the choice of 8% of likely buyers. Sony was No. 3 with 6% of likely buyers, a new high for the company.

Apple and Sony both sell PCs optimized to handle digital media such as music, video and photos.

Apple is riding a huge wave of publicity and media attention surrounding strong sales of its iPod portable music players. That success might be rubbing off on its PC business, says Roger Kay, an analyst with International Data Corp. Consumers might be looking to extend their iPod experience to Apple's Macintosh computers.

The survey is conducted by TIPP, a unit of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, and the results come are based on interviews of 1,026 US adults in a random telephone survey during the week of July 19 through 25.

There is more information on the Index, how it is compiled, and consumer buying trends in the full article at IBD.

The Mac Observer Spin:

It would be amazing if this survey reflected actual buying this season. Then again, Apple has been claiming about 10% of the consumer space for the last year or two, and this survey dealt strictly with consumer purchase intent. The total market share figures usually tossed around also include corporate, government, and other computer purchases.

Under the assumption that Apple's figure for consumer market share is accurate, this Index may simply be reflecting what's actually happening in the market place for the first time.

That's just nitpicking, though; the reality is that it is great news that Apple's brand is showing an uptick in any index of computer purchasing. Perhaps that halo-effect from the iPod is still a possibility.