The average price of a PC in Europe is continuing to fall, according to the latest PC Pricing Index from market research company, IDC. The index, which tracks relative pricing movements, lost nearly two points in January 2003, registering another record low.
The largest drop was seen in the Standard Intel Architecture Server (SIAS) sector. SIAS prices dropped by 4.1 points quarter-on-quarter, leading to a total drop of 12.1 points for the year. The smallest erosion quarter-on-quarter was seen in the notebook sector, but that was largely as a result of the heavy cuts made during the Christmas season.
Commenting on the continued price erosion, Massimo Melis, research analyst for IDC’s European Personal Computing group said, “While bracing themselves for the first major corporate renewals, which are not expected to build up before 3Q03, top vendors are endeavouring to stimulate demand with attractive pricing in order to preserve market share and attain growth targets.”
The most aggressive price-cutter in the last quarter was Hewlett-Packard. In a bid to outdo Dell, it cut SIAS prices by 4.5 points quarter-on-quarter, as well as shaving the cost of both notebook and desktop computers. IBM, although holding firm on desktop and notebook prices, cut its SIAS products by a staggering 8.2 points.
Over the coming quarter, IDC expects price competition to remain fierce across all sectors, particularly in the entry-level segments.
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