PC Spending Down, Macs in Best Position

by , 12:35 PM EDT, March 27th, 2008

Overall PC Spending is trending down, but Apple so far is least unaffected, according to a ChangeWave report released on Wednesday. Only eight percent of the 4,427 consumers surveyed say they'll be buying a laptop in the next 90 days, 6 percent for desktops. For those who do plan to buy a notebook or desktop, Apple remains the leader.

The decline in the percentage of people who plan to buy a computer in the next 90 days is the lowest number seen in the last 12 months.

Source: ChangeWave Research

While the percentages of those who plan to buy a new computer are higher for corporate purchasing, the numbers have also been declining over the last year.

ChangeWave reported that, given the overall declines, Apple seems best positioned with consumers. Those consumers who are planning to buy a notebook computer have Apple at the top of their list, and that percentage has been growing, doubling over the last year.

Source: ChangeWave Research

Source: ChangeWave Research

In the corporate market, Dell's slide also continues. In Aug 2005, about 43 percent said they were planning to buy a Dell in the next quarter. In February 2008, that number has slid to 32 percent. Hewlett-Packard planned buying in the U.S. is down as well, however their outlook is better thanks to strong overseas sales.

When it comes to corporate satisfaction with their OS, more than half said they were very satisfied with Mac OS X Leopard. Linux and Windows XP were right behind, but only 8 percent said they were very satisfied with Vista Business.

Source: ChangeWave Research

While few companies are truly recession-proof, analysts like Shaw Wu with American Technology Research believes that Apple really does shows signs of being recession-proof, for now, based on estimates for robust Mac and MacBook Air sales in Q2.

The full ChangeWave report is available online.