A lot of conventional wisdom around the Apple blogosphere has suggested that iPads are eating into computer sales, with even Best Buy’s CEO recently saying that Cupertino’s tablet had halved notebook sales. But is it really true?
According to the NPD, yes, iPads do cannibalize computer sales… but it’s not as significant as you may have thought. According to their research, only thirteen percent of those who bought an iPad did so instead of buying a computer.
For comparison, twenty four percent of consumers sprang for an iPad over a dedicated eBook reader.
In all honesty, the iPad was never meant to cannibalize desktop and notebook sales. Steve Jobs made the iPads role very clear when he originally announced it: it’s a third screen meant to sit between a smartphone and a traditional computer, primarily meant for media consumption. There’s only so much money in people’s pockets, so some slight cannibalization is to be expected.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
