Consumers have been snapping up computer hardware online during this year’s holiday shopping season, with e-purchases growing 25 percent over the same period last year, according to a new report from comScore. The research firm said the upsurge in demand is being driven by purchases of handheld devices such as Apple’s iPad.
Other popular hardware purchases include e-readers, laptops and flat-panel TVs, with the latter growing 22 percent over the same period last year due to attractive pricing. Additionally, purchases of computer software, excluding PC games, rose 16 percent from the same period last year.
For the holiday season to date, $27.46 billion has been spent online — a 12 percent increase compared to the corresponding period of 2009, noted comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni on Monday. “Free Shipping Day [Dec. 17] punctuated an exceptional week in which consumers spent more than $5.5 billion online, representing a 14 percent increase from last year,” Fulgoni said.
Only the Beginning
The high interest in Apple’s iPad this holiday season may be only the beginning of a multiyear upswing in tablet sales, according to industry observers. Moreover, consumers aren’t the only ones keen on getting their hands on these red-hot devices.
“We’ve had over 200 conversations with IT customers about iPads and other tablets since January,” noted Forrester Research Vice President Ted Schadler in a blog. “The interest is incredible and IT is ahead of the curve on this one, determined not to be playing catch-up, as happened with employee and executive demand for iPhones.”
Gartner believes the tablet market overall will reach 54.8 million units in 2011 — up 181 percent from this year. The research firm also predicts that tablet sales will surpass 208 million in 2014.
Gartner expects wireless service providers currently subsidizing mini-notebooks to drive mobile broadband by shifting their marketing spending…