Consumers are snapping up personal computers and other household electronic goods as a combination of lower prices, easier credit and the desire for the latest gadgets fuels demand, say distributors and retailers.
Light Edge Technologies director David Musikanth says sales of PCs and other electronic goods have risen by 35% across the board this year compared to the 2003 Christmas season.
"We have been surprised by the continuing demand. We were expecting to have moved to skeleton staff during the last week before Christmas, but demand for deliveries from our resellers has continued," he says.
Paul Susan, chief operations officer for retailer Incredible Connection agrees with Musikanth`s assessment, but refuses to divulge figures yet.
"Our sales have been significantly higher in most areas of our business compared with last year. We have seen a particular increase in our entry-level PC products (those that cost less than R6 000) as more and more first time owners are entering the market," Susan says.
Both say the performance of the rand against the dollar has been a big factor in helping to stabilise, if not reduce, prices in many product categories. The rand is one of the strongest-performing currencies against the struggling US dollar this year and so far has gained about 30% against the greenback.
Susan says Incredible Connection introduced consumer credit facilities earlier this year and this has been successful in helping those who want to own a PC but cannot afford the total cost.
"We piloted the credit facility in October and it became operational in September. So far it has been given a positive response," he says.
South African interest rates are currently at 20-year lows with the prime interest rate (the best the banks will approve) at 9.5%. Economists are also predicting a 0.5% cut in the South African Reserve Bank`s lending rate to 7% during the first quarter of 2005.
Products also seeing good consumer demand are LCD displays and digital cameras, where Musikanth says sales have increase by between 25% and 30%.
Musikanth also says there is a discernible shift towards Intel`s P4 chip sets over the Celeron series as consumers prepare for future upgrades.
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