Desktop Computers

by | Sep 10, 2019

Desktop Computers

Only 2.1% of respondents have never owned a desktop computer, the lowest untapped market of any of the 16 devices studied, lower even than that of traditional television sets, according to a Researchscape survey of 1,000 consumers.

Purchase Interest

Despite discussions that the desktop PC market is in a permanent state of decline, fully 58.8% of respondents were “very interested” or “extremely interested” in purchasing a desktop PC. People interested in desktop computers are most likely to also be interested in digital cameras without video (0.147 correlation), handheld game consoles (0.114 correlation) and video game consoles (0.124 correlation). Obviously, and unsurprisingly, they are least interested in laptops (-0.266 correlation).

Desktop PCs are a category that benefits a bit from device substitution: 3.8% of respondents would replace a broken device from a different category (typically, a laptop computer) with a desktop PC.

17% of respondents without a desktop PC said it was the device they didn’t own that they were most interested in purchasing. Of all respondents, 4.4% identified desktop PCs as the device they were most interested in purchasing, the 7th highest interest level. Many are interested in desktop computers because they feel they are more powerful, affordable and upgradable than laptops or are better suited for gaming.

  • More powerful or affordable than a laptop (mentioned by 17 respondents):
    • “Need an upgrade to my laptop. I like the customization you can do with desktops as opposed to laptops. Much easier to fix broken parts as well.”
    • “Better investment than a laptop.”
    • “Some things aren’t possible on laptops.”
    • “I am interested in a desktop computer with more RAM than my laptop.”
  • For gaming (mentioned by 16 respondents):
    • “Because I want to buy a gaming system and the laptops are very expensive compared to desktops.”
    • “I want a high-end second computer to play modern video games.”
    • “Want more power for gaming and a bigger display.”
    • “I like to play video games and in my opinion PC gaming offers the best outlet for doing this.”
  • Want to replace laptop (mentioned by 13 respondents):
    • “My laptop is getting old, and I wouldn’t mind having a desktop.”
    • “My laptop is starting to die and malfunction. A desktop provides better performance, reusable parts, and reliability.”
    • “Because my laptop is 5 years old, and I no longer need a computer for travel.”
    • “I have tired of using a laptop.”
    • “I need more power than my laptop can provide.”
    • “I need a more powerful computer than the laptop I have.”
  • Current model is outdated or malfunctioning (mentioned by 9 respondents):
    • “Mine is outdated, and I want a faster one.”
    • “I need a new one. Mine is breaking.”
    • “I need to upgrade.”
  • Want to build from scratch (mentioned by 4 respondents):
    • “I build them for fun.”
    • “I will buy the components needed to build a gaming PC.”
    • “I’m a computer engineering major, and I want to build my own desktop.”
    • “Easier to update than a laptop and can be cheaper if home built.”
  • For TV or home theater (mentioned by 3 respondents):
    • “I would like something with more storage space then my laptop. I would also like to hook it up to my TV so I can use my TV screen as a monitor.”
    • “To use as a home theater PC.”
    • “I would like to use it as a media server to stream Internet content and video to my TV.”
  • Other noteworthy comments:
    • “I need a new computer anyway, and it’d be nice to have a stationary one to put in the spare room of the house.”
    • “I don’t trust having a portable computer to store my files.”
    • “It’s nice to have a desktop if you need a computer for something like file hosting.”

Current Ownership

73.8% of respondents currently own a desktop, the third highest ownership rate of the 16 devices studied.

10.9% no longer use the device, giving it a below average rate of lapsed usage (compared to an average of 16.3%). Conversely, it had the third highest rate of frequent use: 75.4% of owners reported using their desktop PC frequently. (Laptops, in contrast, are the devices least likely to go unused: only 4% of owners do not use their laptop PCs.)

In a separate survey of 400 consumers, we asked respondents a hypothetical question: which devices would they purchase if they had lost all of their devices in a robbery and new purchases were covered by insurance? 70.2% of current owners were “very interested” or “extremely interested” in repurchasing a desktop PC, the 4th highest interest level in repurchasing.

Only 12.1% of owners said it was the device that they were least interested in replacing if it broke.

Past Ownership

Almost a quarter of the respondents (24.0%) have owned a desktop PC in the past but no longer do so: 95% of these past owners now own a laptop PC. This represents 24.6% of the group of current and former owners.

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