NEW DELHI, INDIA: PC customer buying preferences will continue to push the PC market from direct to indirect during the next four years, forcing manufacturers to do a better job of customer segmentation and go-to-market strategies, according to Gartner.
The indirect channel accounted for 66.6 percent worldwide PC shipments in 2004, and it grew to account for 74.3 percent of shipments in 2008 due to emerging market expansion.
“The direct sales channel is still showing customer preference in certain segments such as enterprise, government and education and some professional segments in mature markets,” said Tiffani Bova, Research VP, Gartner.
Bova said telecom retailers will also begin to play a much more active role as a viable mobile PC channel, especially with mini-notebooks that are being bundled with remote access (third-generation <3G> contracts) in Western Europe, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and the US.
Direct market resellers (DMRs) will be the fastest-growing indirect sales channel, although the market size will be relatively small at less than five percent of the total market by 2012, and will continue to play a crucial role in any PC manufacturers’ go-to-market (GTM) market model, especially in the US.
Gartner said that the burgeoning indirect channel will be driven by strong growth of products focused on the home and small and mid-size (SMB) customers in both mature and emerging markets that show a preference for purchasing via indirect channels (retail and VAR).
“The distribution of PCs has always been a complex logistics exercise, and during the last two years, the channel has been particularly volatile with a declining average selling price (ASP), increased channels to market, consolidation and the introduction of new brands and technologies to the market,” Bova said. “Building a robust and comprehensive GTM strategy is critical to the overall success of a PC manufacturer. Building a one-size-fits-all product or channel strategy will not deliver the flexibility or responsiveness customers are looking for in today’s market,” she added.
In the current economic situation, meeting the customer where they want to buy, with the products they are interested in, must receive the highest level of attention by PC manufacturers, stated Gartner.
“With predictions of an unprecedented PC market slowdown in 2009, how PC manufacturers keep demand and brand loyalty high will come down to the attention spent on GTM and account coverage initiatives,” Bova said. “Shoring up partnerships with channel companies (retail, VAR and TSP) and distributors has the ability to provide tremendous competitive advantage. This building of multichannel sales avenues opens up touch-points and customer contacts with reduced costs versus selling and supporting customers directly,” she added.