Last week I read an excellent post from our own Industry Analyst, Steve Baker, talking about the Computing market south of the border.  He spoke of a changing Computing landscape, the decline of the Tablet market and how what we view as a Computing device is much different than many years ago.  I couldn’t agree with him more as the Canadian market is experiencing a similar trend however as I read through his post I couldn’t help but compare some of the US trends to our own business and making note of some of the key differences.

Yes through the first four months of 2016 the combined Tablet and Notebook market is showing similar volume decline, around 16%, and just like the US market it is the Slate Tablet that is driving the majority of this decline.  Traditional Notebooks, like in the US, are faring better with unit volume down 7% while at the same time generating more revenue this year than the previous year.  After comparing those initial market comments I thought Canada and the US are following the same path however after reading further it became apparent that although at the highest level the markets seemed similar there are some key differences that make Canada distinct.

Steve talked about the sub $300 market in the US growing, now representing almost 40% of traditional Notebook sales, with low-cost Windows and Chromebook devices showing increase presence in the market.  Here in Canada this is not the case as we are dealing with a market where the low-end market has diminished significantly in importance.  Chromebooks within Canadian retail is a very small portion of the market overall, securing less than 2% of sales, while in general the “value” market represents less than 15% of Canadian sales and is in steep decline.  So far in 2016 we see not only this “value” market in decline but expanding that view to Notebooks priced at less than $600 and we continue to see both unit and revenue declines in these lower priced markets.  We know that higher prices being driven by a less than favorable exchange rate is impacting what consumers are being asked to spend however throughout the years I have always seen a Canadian market less dependent on lower price segments.

Similar to the US, here in Canada the Premium price market is showing tremendous growth, including the 2-in-1 market.  While in the US there is mention of high-end PC’s beginning at the $700 level here in Canada at $700 we are still thinking about mid-priced devices.  Our high-end or Premium market can be considered $1,000 plus for a device.  Within the Notebook market this Premium market represents 40% of the  volume and close to 60% of the revenue.  Which means we are asking Canadian consumers to shell out more of their hard earned dollars to purchase a premium priced device.  So far Canadians seem to have little issue opening up their wallets as this Premium market shows no sign of slowing down as they continue to purchase not only traditional Notebooks but also 2-in-1 devices at these high price levels.

So while on the surface it seems as if both regions are following the same path, as we look further into the Canadian market we discover some very unique nuances that can change how we market and sell our devices.  In this example the price difference is evident across borders – furthermore the competitive brand set and those who are leading or following is different as well.