All-In-One PCs Provide New Stimulus to Chinese Desktop Market

In 2009, when portable PCs witnessed leapfrogging development by virtue of their portability, the desktop PC market was in urgent need of a new growth point. Many OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) gradually diverted their attention to the All-In-One PC - a new force in the desktop PC market - in the hope of reversing the downturn. Boasting a large, high-definition LCD screen, the integrated PC occupies less space, has an individualised appearance and consumes less power than its competitors, representing a "brand new concept of desktop PC". 

In fact, the all-in-one has dwelled in China's PC market for a long time, but only a few manufacturers were producing this kind of PC; the average price was too high and appearance dull. In the market at that time, aesthetically pleasing PCs with mainstream configurations and at affordable prices were not easy to find. By 2009 the number of PC manufacturers entering this market had risen to ten. As mainstream products priced between RMB3,000 and RMB5,000 entered the market accompanied by well-pitched promotions, all-in-one sales in the second quarter of 2009 began to surge.

As the PC market began to warm-up in the first half of 2009, all-in-one successfully captured consumers' attention, making them more aware of the desktop PC market. Meanwhile, manufacturers and upstream suppliers also tried to expand their product lines, adjust their price structure and improve the performance of their products.  This helped to lay a solid foundation for increasing the sales of all in one and further enlarged their market share.

According to GfK’s monitoring data on the retail markets in 110 cities, the sales of all-in-one rose by quarter by quarter in 2009, reaching over 183,000 units. The proportion of all–in-one in the desktop PC market also increased as the year progressed and by the fourth quarter of 2009, sales accounted for 4% of total desktop PC sales. This rapid growth appears to have presented the desktop PC market with a new growth point.