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The Western European PC market has surpassed expectations yet again as shipments increased 20.1% year on year in 2Q05. Although outpacing forecasts in unit terms, growth in value terms remained constrained, as the proliferation of low-priced entry-level systems was a key stimulus of demand across the region. The potential rise of the dollar against the euro as well as components costs in 2H05 has also motivated many channel players to order PCs ahead of the back-to-school season, boosting "sales in" shipments and channel inventory levels.
Consumers continued to respond positively to vendors' attractive price points, which added to robust double-digit growth in both the consumer desktop and consumer notebook markets. Offerings starting at ?599 launched by most major vendors have undoubtedly contributed to sustained momentum in notebook demand, stimulating purchases in the low end of the market. Desktop sales also displayed healthy trends, as attractive digital home entertainment solutions continued to add to the acceleration of replacement cycles in the home segment. Businesses also benefited from vendors' aggressive pricing strategies, fuelling further notebook penetration, particularly in the SMB market. Nevertheless, with enhanced solutions around security, manageability, and ease of deployment, large corporations were increasingly keen on deploying portable form factors. However, cautious spending in the corporate space continues leading to more moderate growth in commercial shipments overall.
"Positive trends are expected to continue in 2H05, with the buoyant back-to-school and Christmas seasons stimulating consumer demand for both desktop and notebook form factors, and shipments are estimated to increase by 16.5% for the full year," said Eszter Morvay, research analyst for IDC's EMEA Quarterly PC research group. "However, beyond 2005, overall market growth is expected to return to more moderate levels as corporate replacement cycles take on smoother trends: although notebook demand is expected to display solid double-digit growth rates, it will be compensated by decelerating desktop sales."
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