QUESTIONNAIRE

Computer research firm Context surveys the retail and home market in the UK. PC Dealer brings you extracts from its findings.

QUESTION 1

rch firm Context surveys the retail and home market in the UK. PC Dealer brings you extracts from its findings. On a scale of 1 (least) to 5 (most), how much importance do you place on the sale of PCs and printers to home users, as opposed to business users?

ANSWER

Most panellists do not seem to be too focused on the home consumer market, with over a third of respondents claiming that this market is least important compared with selling to business users. This may be due to the higher profitability of business accounts.

QUESTION 2

In your opinion, how well have vendors addressed the needs of the retail and home markets?

ANSWER

The number of panellists who thought vendors had addressed retail and home market needs well was surprisingly low. Gateway and Packard Bell were notable exceptions, with over 10 per cent of the panel giving them the highest rating. The majority of replies put vendors in the middle ground.

QUESTION 3

Have you ever experienced any difficulties with stock levels of PCs for the home market?

ANSWER

The experience of difficulties with stock levels was quite low, with almost three-quarters of respondents saying they never or rarely had a problem. The findings seem to show that consumers are not very price-sensitive, and stock can be dispensed relatively easily.

QUESTION 4

What do you think is the biggest factor influencing customer purchasing decisions in the retail and home market?

ANSWER

An overwhelming majority of the panel stated that price was the major factor home consumers look for when buying PCs. Surprisingly, brand and design was given a low rating, demonstrating that nobody has yet managed to monopolise this market.

QUESTION 5

What percentage of your sales to the retail and home PC market is achieved over the Christmas period?

ANSWER

The traditionally booming Christmas period accounted for under 10 per cent of home PC annual sales for the majority of panellists. Only three per cent seemed to take full advantage of the period, with a sales figure of over 70 per cent.

QUESTION 6

With your knowledge of the market, where do you predict the increase in volume of sales to this market will come from?

ANSWER

Half the panellists expected computer superstores to lead the expansion of the PC market into the home. The other half of the panel was equally split between direct vendors, high street stores and specialist PC dealers.