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Consumer demand for PCs is slumping badly

Consumer demand for PCs is slumping badly

As more people do at least some of their holiday shopping online every year, retailers are looking to take advantage of digital deal-seekers — not just on the much-ballyhooed Cyber Monday, but on Black Friday and even Thanksgiving Day.ComScore, the online analytics firm, is predicting that online spending is going to increase yet again this holiday season.As the iPad eats away at personal computer sales, the PC appears to have found a potential savior in … Apple?

It’s an unlikely source, but it’s true. Ultrabooks, the ultra-thin notebook computers with no hard disk drive or slot for a DVD, are a category of PC that was essentially invented by Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) with its MacBook Air, which debuted in 2008.The company also plans to announce lifestyle guru Martha Stewart as a curator on the site – a move the six-month-old company hopes will boost interest in the biggest online shopping day of the year.

Now, PC makers are scrambling in their attempts to replicate Apple’s secret sauce. “We’ve made improvements to the site to make it run faster. We’ve added additional shipping options, gift wrapping, customer service staff and have all hands on deck from now through the holiday.”The rise of the Ultrabook is expected to happen quickly. This year, IHS predicts fewer than 1 million Ultrabook sales, making up just 2% of all notebook sales.

Market analysts expect them to succeed: Sales of Ultrabooks are forecast to boom over the next few years in the same way that netbooks took off in 2007 — until the iPad debuted. Ultrabook sales will reach 136.5 million in 2015, making up 43% of notebook sales, according to IHS iSuppli.”We’re expecting our biggest day ever – we have 10,000 new people joining OpenSky every day and we expect sales to be five times our largest day,” said OpenSky Founder John Caplan.

But next year, the thin notebooks will rise to 13% of all laptop sales, then 28% in 2013 and 38% by 2014.The company also plans to announce lifestyle guru Martha Stewart as a curator on the site – a move the six-month-old company hopes will boost interest in the biggest online shopping day of the year. The PC is in need of a white knight. Consumer demand for PCs is slumping badly, particularly in the United States, Canada and Europe. Industry consultancy Gartner has repeatedly slashed its PC shipment forecasts over the course of the year.

Tags: Apple, consumer, demand, PC, Ultrabook