Outlook for the Consumer Market to Be Examined at Dataquest Predicts 99 Conference
San Jose, Calif., February 9, 1999—Lower-priced personal computers had a strong impact on the U.S. consumer segment, as 50 percent of U.S. households had a PC in 1998, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group Inc. (NYSE: IT). The PC industry has made great strides into the home market. In 1995, just 27 percent of U.S. households had a PC."The PC penetration rate continues to increase at a healthy clip, showing that the PC is rapidly becoming a standard household appliance," said Van Baker, director for Dataquest's consumer market research. "There is evidence that the first-time buyers are coming from households in the lower socioeconomic levels. However, the increase in penetration is across all segments." U.S. PC penetration into the home market has been consistent over the past couple of years. In 1998, the home market increased 7 percent over 1997 when 43 percent of U.S. households had a PC. In 1996, U.S. PC home market penetration was 36 percent.
Additional information on the consumer market is available in Dataquest's programs Digital Consumer: Media and Entertainment United States, and Digital Consumer: Computers and Communications United States.Dataquest's Digital Consumer: Media and Entertainment United States program provides vital information for PC and consumer electronics vendors, digital content and service providers, and industry investors. The program examines what products are likely to survive the consumer test, so clients can make the strategic marketing, development, and investment decisions critical to survival in a multiple-industry upheaval.
Dataquest's Digital Consumer: Computers and Communications United States program offers analysis on who is intending to buy, who is actually buying, and for what purpose. The program is a strategic tool for PC and peripheral vendors, industry investors, and online services providers striving to understand the U.S. home market.Dataquest analysts will examine the consumer technology market during the upcoming GartnerGroup's Dataquest Predicts 99 Conference, to be held March 22-24 at the San Diego Hyatt. Dataquest analysts will provide their outlook for the high-technology industry. GartnerGroup's Spring Symposium/ITxpo 99 will be held concurrently at the San Diego Convention Center. Members of the press can register for the conference by contacting Josh Lefkowitz at 212-696-2000, or at jlefkowitz@tsipr.com. Additional information on the event is available on the GartnerGroup Web site at http://www.gartner.com/public/static/events/main.html.
Additional information on the handheld market is available by subscribing to Dataquest's Mobile Computing Worldwide program. The program focuses on mobile computing hardware but does discuss software on a qualitative basis in terms of how these changes impact mobile computing hardware. More information on this program is available on Dataquest's Web site at http://www.dataquest.com/dq/static/offer/programs/semi-ww.html.To purchase the report or subscribe to this program, please call 800-419-DATA or 408-468-8009. More information about Dataquest's programs, descriptions of recent research reports, and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.dataquest.com.
GartnerGroup's Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry.As the world's leading authority on IT, GartnerGroup provides clients with a wide range of products and services in the areas of IT advisory services, measurement, research, decision support, analysis, and consulting. Founded in 1979, with headquarters in Stamford, Conn., GartnerGroup is at the center of a global community serving Fortune 1000 clients from 80 locations worldwide. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.gartner.com.