Consumer confidence may be plummeting, but some people are still planning to buy PCs this holiday season, and Apple and Dell appear poised to benefit, according to a recent consumer survey.
ChangeWave Research, a Lancaster, Pa.-based research firm, surveyed 3,699 consumers between Oct. 23 and Nov. 3, and found that -- surprise, surprise -- fewer folks are planning to buy new PCs this holiday season than in previous years.
But although just 8 percent of consumers are planning to buy new notebook PCs in the next 90 days, 33 percent said they'll buy Apple notebooks, and 33 percent said they'll buy Dell notebooks, according to ChangeWave.
The survey also found that only 6 percent of consumers are planning to buy a new desktop PC, down from 8 percent last year. Within that group, a surprising 37 percent of respondents said they plan to buy a Dell desktop PC, and 27 percent said they'll choose Apple desktops.
Apple's October release of snazzy new aluminum MacBooks, and Dell's reputation as a value brand, are helping to drive those trends. However, because the majority of Dell's PC sales are to businesses, where IT spending cuts have been more pronounced, the consumer figures don't mean that all is well for Dell, ChangeWave noted.
Michael Oh, president of Boston-based Apple reseller Tech Superpowers, says interest in Apple's new redesigned MacBooks is high, despite the corresponding price tag. "It doesn't seem to faze people too much that the new, sleeker MacBooks cost more than the older, plastic ones," Oh said.
The uniqueness of the MacBook design, and the effectiveness of Apple's advertising, help to insulate Apple from consumer-spending slowdown, according to Oh. "Apple has always done a very good job of getting that mindshare," he said.
