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The Western European PC market continued to display robust trends in 1H05 as combined consumer and commercial demand assisted in a 17.3% increase across all form factors. Digital home entertainment systems with enhanced multimedia features were driving consumer desktop demand, while continued buoyancy in the consumer notebook market and increasing portable adoption by SMBs and corporations were fuelling notebook sales. The following key characteristics have defined the market:
Vendors' aggressive expansion strategies have been fuelling fierce competition in Western Europe, resulting in further price erosion across all form factors. With demand showing increasing price elasticity, declining price points continued to be a major stimulus of PC sales. Sustained buoyancy in the notebook segment continued to drive overall market growth, signifying the acceleration of portable adoption in the consumer and SMB market, leading to increased market penetration across Western Europe.
"Positive trends are expected to continue in 2H05 with the buoyant back-to-school and Christmas seasons stimulating consumer demand and resulting in an estimated 16.5 % increase for the full year," said Eszter Morvay, research analyst for IDC's EMEA Quarterly PC Research group. "However, in the coming years, market growth is expected to return to more moderate single-digit levels as corporate replacement cycles take on smoother trends with a new wave of refreshes boosting demand again in 2008," she added.
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