PC manufacturers have been urged to beef up their channel coverage as end-user buying preferences continue to push the market from direct to indirect.

According to Gartner, the indirect channel will account for 80 per cent of worldwide PC shipments by 2012, up from 66.6 per cent in 2004 and 74.3 per cent in 2008.

Tiffani Bova, research vice president at Gartner, advised manufacturers to spend more time on their go-to-market and account coverage initiatives.

“Shoring up partnerships with channel companies (retail, VAR and technology service provider) and distributors has the ability to provide tremendous competitive advantage,” she said.

Direct market resellers and telecoms retailers are predicted to be among the main recipients of the growth. The latter category will begin to play a much more active role as a viable mobile PC channel in Western Europe and other mature markets, Bova said.

Non-traditional PC retailers such as Carrefour and Wal-Mart are also expected to enjoy a more prominent role.

“In the current economic climate, 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,” said Bova.