UK netbook market records first ever decline

Small form factor under threat as sales struggle in back-to-school period

Too cool for school: Netbook sales shrivelled eight per cent in August as notebook market returned to growth

UK unit sales of netbooks fell for the first time ever in August and, despite a return to growth in September, are in danger of being usurped in the long term by the rise of the webbook.

That is according to GfK, whose figures for August and September indicate that it was notebooks, and not netbooks, that drove mobile PC sales during the back-to-school period.

According to the research house, in August unit sales of netbooks – which have kept the mobile PC market afloat over the past 12 months – fell eight per cent year on year. In value terms, the market flopped 13 per cent as average selling prices (ASPs) tumbled 10 per cent.

Meanwhile, notebooks flew off the shelves in August and September with unit sales growing six per cent and one per cent respectively. The market increased by 18 per cent and 12 per cent in value terms as ASPs rose by nearly seven per cent.

Although the netbook market took off again in September, GfK said the emergence of the webbook category could hamper its long-term recovery.

Webbook sales rose 225 per cent between June and September, the analyst said. While the first webbooks were priced at over £430, models set for launch in the fourth quarter are likely to command price tags as low as £130, creating even greater friction with the netbook category.