Why consumers will still buy Macs during the recession

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 04 March 2009 05:31

Opinion and Analysis

As numerous analysts have pointed out, desktop computers are on the way out, yet here we are in the middle of a - dare I say it - depression and Apple has just released a new range of premium priced desktop Macs. Some people might say Apple are mad to bring out new desktops at this time, but they would be mad if they didn't.

It is true that in January, Mac sales were down by 6% compared to the previous year's corresponding month. However, given that we're in one of the worst economic horror stretches in living memory that's a fantastic result.

What makes the January result even more remarkable is that it was achieved with an aging line-up of Macs that were badly in need of a refresh. Mac consumers still bought these Macs while the market was buzzing with rumours of new products on the way!

Add to all of that the fact that the world is moving away from desktops toward notebooks and more recently netbooks and the result was, as an Apple fanboi might say, simply awesome.

This is not to say Apple itself is recession-proof. iPod sales in January were down 14% year-on-year.

However, the desktop Mac is not a product that users will stop buying in a hurry because in many cases it is not a discretionary purchase and in others it is not a product of the money conscious consumer.

The Mac Pro, for example, is in the domain of the creative graphics design market. The users of this product want the latest and greatest hardware that will run the latest and greatest software that will enable them to achieve the best possible end result more quickly.

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