NPD: Tablets Fuel Computer Sales Boom

Still A Computer Age

The computer revolution remains ongoing, as NPD reports that year to date through NOVEMBER 2013, 14.4 million desktops, notebooks, and tablets were sold through U.S. retail. The 25.4% increase over 2012 is a huge improvement over the 3.1% sales increase in 2012

What fueled this boom? While all computer categories enjoyed an increase in sales, tablet sales was the main force, seeing its sales rise by 49%. In comparison, desktop sales rose 8.5% and notebooks grew 28.9%. Naturally, tablet sales took a greater -- but not greatest -- piece of the pie, accounting for more than 22% of all personal computing device sales sold through the commercial channels. APPLE's iPAD accounted for 59% of that volume.

Other big winners were CHROMEBOOK and ANDROID tablets, whose collective sales rose from 400,000 units in 2012 to 1.76 million units this year, CHROMEBOOKS accounted for 21% of all notebook sales, up from negligible share in the prior year, and 8% of all computer and tablet sales through NOVEMBER.

“The market for personal computing devices in commercial markets continues to shift and change,” NPD VP/Industry Analysis STEPHEN BAKER said.  “New products like CHROMEBOOKS, and reimagined items like Windows tablets, are now supplementing the revitalization that iPADS started in personal computing devices. It is no accident that we are seeing the fruits of this change in the commercial markets as business and institutional buyers exploit the flexibility inherent in the new range of choices now open to them.”

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