Pondering over the first quarter 2007 sales figures, we in Frontier Electronics decided to give the whole thing a different twist. Consequently, we analysed you - our customers - on the basis of your shopping preferences during the past three months.
The analysis revealed several distinct trends.
First and foremost, you crave digital storage, lots and lots of it. No wonder. All those digital photos, music files and video footage that you are amassing need space. That's why the 400GB has become the best seller in the hard disc drive category, finishing the first quarter well ahead of its smaller competitors.
When you need to take your data out of your computer, you are now much more likely to reach for DVD discs than for the CD ones. It never used to be like that. Not so long ago, sales of blank CDs compellingly outnumbered the blank DVD sales. But that was at the time when DVD discs were prohibitively expensive. That is not the case any longer. With DVDs selling for well under R2 apiece, you have wisely concluded that it makes more sense to go for them, since a DVD holds 4.7GB of data, and the modest CD only about 700MB.
No prizes for guessing why so many of you came to Frontier Electronics for your optical media. After all, Frontier is a major importer of blank discs in South Africa, and the steady flow of shipments ensures prices of our discs remain in the forefront of competitiveness.
Seeing that you've bought so many discs, you obviously had to do something with them. That must be the reason why Frontier's duplicating equipment - controllers and towers - are so high on your shopping list.
As for the drives to be fitted inside the duplicating towers, you mainly opted for Sony and Pioneer dual-layer DVD recorders. Then you solved the problem of storing all those burned discs by getting loads and loads of Frontier's CD and DVD cases and wallets. Among the latter, especially popular was a specific elegant dark blue wallet that holds 240 discs, which bears witness not only to your growing storage appetites, but also to your good taste.
Far behind the optical discs and accessories, but still number two by the quantity sold in January, February and March 2007, is another storage device: the flash drive. Frontier's 1GB and 2GB Whale flash drives were always popular, but after the price drop, they are selling like hot cakes. And now that 4GB Whale flash drive has become a regular on Frontier's shelves, it is vying for the top place in USB flash drives category.
Staying with storage-related items, the USB 2.5-inch external box deserves an honorary mention for attracting notable sales this past quarter. We have it in two varieties, black and white. You preferred the black one.
This brings us to the second trend: your love of black. Given the choice, you will sooner opt for black than any other colour. Your favourite computer case is the one with handle - in black, of course. In the monitor, keyboard and the humble mouse category, black remains your firm choice. Same goes for the MP3 player. We offered to you two varieties of wafer-thin MP3 players, and you consistently displayed preference for elegant black over demure white.
The third trend is about mobility and connectivity. This is evidenced by the steady rise of the value of laptop sales. Many of you love your laptop features so much that you got Frontier's PCI to PCMCIA card, because it allows you to use the 3G card with your desktop PC (and not only your laptop). You manifested your thirst for connectivity by acquiring Frontier's Bluetooth adapter to connect to your cellphone without the cumbersome cables. But you also got metres and metres of Frontier's solid CAT-5 cable, because there's (still) nothing quite like cumbersome wires for keeping your network of computers snug and safe.
Here are a few more strokes to complete this sketch of Frontier's customers:
* Judging from your first quarter shopping, you are a responsible computer user who would never leave her or his PC without the uninterrupted power supply unit. Unlike previous years, you are now more likely to buy a somewhat more powerful 1000VA, than the smaller 600VA UPS.
* You are also independent-minded and prefer to listen to your own selection of notes while driving, instead of depending on some DJ's taste - or lack of it. That's why you clean Frontier's shelves of MP3 on Channel as fast as we keep filling them.
* You are a hands-on DIY person, at least when it comes to printing your own digital photos. At least we think that's why you bought all those Canon and HP photo printers - but the true give-away is the photo paper you also bought. Does that make you thrifty or creative? Probably both.
Details about the products used in this analysis can be found by browsing Frontier Electronics' Web site, starting from http://www.frontier-electronics.co.za/products_computer.htm.
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