Techaisle US SMB PC Distribution Channels 2010

ALMOST 50 PERCENT OF US PCs WERE PURCHASED THROUGH THE RETAIL CHANNEL IN 2010 - SMB PC RETAIL UP ALMOST 1/3 OF TOTAL, SAYS TECHAISLE

San Jose, CA, March 7, 2011: In 2010, 27 percent of PCs purchased by US based SMBs were through the retail channel. In overall market terms, including consumer and large enterprise, almost 50 percent of PCs was purchased through retail in the US.

"In 2010, although a consumer-led year, retail gained importance for both the consumer and SMB segments," says Tavishi Agrawal of Techaisle.

Also interesting is the growth of Internet retail sales in the SMB market segment - which continues to deliver YoY double digit growth with a rate of 15.1 percent and confirms the price consciousness and technology maturity levels reached by US SMBs in 2010.

The share of proximity dealers/resellers, however, continues to decline [18 percent YoY] as they chronically suffer from a weak proposition vs. the immediate availability found in technology retail stores and the price competitiveness found in Internet retail shopping baskets.

Desktop PCs are posing an interesting challenge for the channels. Unit sales are increasing by 1.8 percent but in a market with greater than 5 percent growth - they are actually decreasing. "Our research shows this decrease in desktop unit sales translates to greater focalization. The product becomes less appealing by a broad spectrum of customers and thus fewer channels are interested in selling it," says Paolo Puppoli of Techaisle.

Techaisle's view in developed markets is that desktops are increasingly becoming niche-type devices which are gradually sold in volume mainly through specialist channels such as VARs, whose capability to package products together with solutions often requires customization. The VAR channel is, nonetheless, well poised to capitalize on the growing SMB mobility trend, and the technology complexity it brings, reporting a 2010 growth rate of 40.5 percent.

The mid-market (100-999 employees) companies are continuing to buy direct from manufacturers, internet resellers, and corporate VARs. Retail corporate programs available from Technology retailers are also delivering intake representing circa 2 percent of segment unit share.

About Techaisle
Techaisle is a global SMB IT Market Research and Industry Analyst organization. Each of Techaisle's Senior Analysts has been with major research companies such as IDC and Gartner. Techaisle conducts surveys with SMBs and channels to understand market trends, opportunities, buying behavior, purchase intent, and IT priorities. Besides delivering forward looking analysis on emerging technologies such as SMB cloud computing, managed services, and mobility, its channel research coverage provides in-depth understanding of resellers and distribution channels globally. Techaisle offers its clients six major services: SMB Syndicated Research, Custom Consulting, Worldwide IT Market Opportunity Sizing, Channels Research, Reseller Universe Sizing and Market Segmentation. For more information on Techaisle or its global products/services, please visit www.techaisle.com

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