PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
GfK delivered vital sales statistic at this year’s PCR Boot Camp to help retailers, resellers and system builders understand which markets are rising and which are in decline.
GfK’s UK technology group lead Ranjiv Dale and business group director Megan Moore analysed the current state of the IT market.
Dale reveled that consumers are positive right now and the growth of online purchasing may have been somewhat overplayed. "We’re seeing a huge reliance on physical stores. Even the millennials are still engaged with a traditional store environment," he explained, stressing that consumers still want to touch and see products before they buy.
"Tech suppliers are embracing the omnichannel shopping experience. The mobile phone has become an important part of the online shopping/research experience," he added.
Moore picked apart the figure for more emerging sectors like wearables, the smart home and the Internet of things, revealing some interesting results for Q1 2015.
"The two areas declining in IT are desktops and tablets, but all-in-ones are up 50 per cent and laptops are on the increase," she said. "Consumers are data driven these days, meaning networking is growing by 19 per cent, and powerline networking grew by nearly 30 per cent in Q1 2015."
Moore also explained that the SSD sector is growing thanks to gamers, along with gaming headsets, keyboards, mice and monitors.
She said that 10 per cent of the mice and keyboard market is made up of gaming products.
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