MMW was privy this morning to a new report from NPD Group, which shares some powerful insights into PC sales during the recent back-to-school push.
U.S. consumer retail PC sales grew almost 3 percent during the 10 week Back-to-School period (week of July 4th through Labor Day week) after declining by 2.5 percent in the previous year, according to The NPD Group Weekly Tracking Service.
Apple and Chrome OS were tops in the sales drive with Chrome OS unit sales jumping 37 percent over 2013. Mac OS-based products climbed 14 percent.
Windows devices, however, fell 3 percent. Overall, notebooks were up 3.4 percent in units and desktops were flat, year-over-year, the report summary explains.
“After a slow start, aggressive pricing and robust selection drove significant volumes towards the end of the Back-to-School season, making it a very strong year,” said Stephen Baker vice president of Industry Analysis at NPD. “Due to the success of the aggressive Windows notebook pricing during Back-to-School we could see a much more aggressive pricing strategy this holiday season as the seemingly stable PC volume environment emboldens the PC OEMs and the OS and chip suppliers to make a grab for market share while the industry remains relatively steady.”
