Australian business swallowing tablets at faster rate

Tablet devices are continuing to gain hold in Australian businesses, with buying intentions for tablets trumping those for PCs, according to new research from Roy Morgan.

The survey, which explored the buying intentions of more than 10,000 executives, found those intending to purchase or replace desktop PCs had fallen from 20.3 percent to 17.6 percent in the 12 months to March this year.

Meanwhile, those planning on buying or replacing a tablet device jumped 23 per cent, from 10.9 per cent last year to 13.4 percent this year.

“Microsoft’s well-publicised problems with Windows 8 sales may be particularly apparent in the business market, where PC procurement appears to be on hold,” Roy Morgan business research director Nigel Smith said in a statement.

“The reluctance of businesses to upgrade their desktop PCs may also be due to the overall economic climate. Businesses that expect their overall performance to decline over the next 12 months are much less likely to upgrade – and in the last 12 months the proportion of businesses who are pessimistic has increased,” he said.

Prospective purchases of laptops or notebooks remained stable with a decline of only 0.3 percentage points from 20.2 percent to 19.9 percent.