The laptop market - France (2023)

1.2 The global notebook market

The global notebook market is estimated at around $***.** billion for ****, and is expected to grow to €***.** billion by ****. [***].

Global notebook market World, ****-****, in billions of US dollars Source: ****

While computers and laptops have been around for a long time, increasing purchasing power, the influx of people to urban centers and the growing digitization of society mean that these products are still in demand. What's more, technological innovations are making laptops cheaper and more accessible to more people[***].

Although often thought of as a home or personal device, laptops are in fact essential for businesses and governments. While they are far more powerful than smartphones and tablets (***), they also offer greater mobility and versatility than desktops.

Widespread access and improved Internet infrastructure, as well as the changing nature of work in the wake of the COVID-** pandemic, are sure to drive increased demand - and hence growth - in this market in the years ahead.

In fact, until ****, the notebook market was facing a seven-year decline. This was due to the increase in sales of smartphones and tablets. Previously, the only segments of the notebook market that were growing were gaming laptops and high-end business computers. The covid-** pandemic and the ...

1.3 The French notebook market

The IT market in France is relatively stable, hovering just below sales of *.* billion euros per year until ****. This market is highly diversified, and includes not only notebooks, but also everything from microcomputers to supercomputer workstations[***]

Computer market sales France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

In France, **% of computers are laptops [***].

Breakdown of computers sold by type France, ****, in % [ LSA Source: ****

It's interesting to compare the revenues of three different segments: laptops, tablets and desktops. Laptops account for over **% of revenues in these three markets combined, and this is a historic trend. In ****, notebook market revenues will amount to *.*** billion euros, compared with *.* billion and *.*** billion euros respectively for tablets and desktops [***].

Revenues for the three electronics segments France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

In terms of popularity, laptops are the second or third best-selling devices, depending on the year, far outstripped by smartphones. In ****, nearly ** million smartphones were sold, compared with *.* million laptops, *.* million tablets and *.* million wearable devices (***) [***].

1.4 Imports and exports

Balance of trade in portable electronic devices France, ****-****, in millions of dollars and in % A COMTRADE

The coverage rate of this market is particularly low, but will increase in **** due to a drop in imports and a simultaneous rise in exports.

Main destinations for French exports of portable electronic devices France, ****, in millions of dollars A COMTRADE

Most of France's limited exports go to Europe, to nearby countries such as the Netherlands and Germany.

France's main suppliers of portable electronic devices France, ****, in millions of dollars A COMTRADE

The port status of the Netherlands makes it France's leading supplier.

1.5 The impact of COVID-19

In ****, the COVID-** pandemic wreaked economic havoc on many markets and households, and while the general market in France has not been spared this fate, laptop sales have actually increased.

Indeed, the volume of laptop sales rose by *% in **** compared with **** (***). Due to confinements, long periods of telecommuting and increased time spent at home, consumers decided to buy more laptops. Outside of work, people bought laptops to stream video, play video games and other uses that were previously done mainly on the phone [***].

As might be expected during the months of confinement in March/April/May and then November ****, activities such as watching TV, reading, playing video games and pirating media all increased. Naturally, many of these activities are done and can be done on laptops.

Activities practiced by the French France, ****, in millions of people Source: ****

In fact, this increase in sales (***), such as Intel and AMD, found it difficult to keep up with demand and increase their production and delivery capacity [***]. Over the year as a whole, sales rose by **% in **** compared with the previous year, despite a period of more than * months during which stores were closed. The months just after the lifting of the first lock-in saw ...

2.1 French consumer habits

A large minority of French people (***) replace their old laptop with a new one less than once every five years, almost a third replace their laptop every three to five years, only *% buy a new one every year and *% do not own a laptop [***].

Laptop purchase frequency France, ****, in Source: ****

If we look at the raw figures for new laptop purchases in France year on year, we see that an overwhelming majority of French people's laptops are at least two years old [***]. Last laptop purchase France, ****-****, in millions of people Source: Kantar It seems that the French tend to spend most of their money on microcomputers (***) towards the end of the year. A study conducted by GFK revealed that the French spend almost twice as much in the fourth quarter as they did in the second quarter, a trend that is fairly constant over time [***]. Microcomputer purchasing trends France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: GFK Distribution of the number of digital devices with screen in the household France, ****, average number of devices per household arcep On average, each French household has * computers Equipment used in the last * months France, ****, in % of daily users arcep Confinement habits seem to have ...

2.2 Expenses related to the purchase of laptops

As technological innovation has improved, and the variety and number of manufacturers has increased, laptop prices have really come down. Today, in France, you can find a laptop that costs less than *** euros. at the other end of the spectrum, there are high-end, customized and gaming laptops that can cost thousands of euros. For example, Apple's latest MacBook Pro **', equipped with all the most advanced features, costs *,***.** euros Apple ].

In ****, of the people who bought new laptops, just over * million bought laptops in the *** to *** euro price range. More than * million people spent *** euros or more on their new laptop, and just under * million people bought laptops in the ***-*** euro price range. *** thousand people bought laptops in **** for *** euros or less [***].

Budget spent on a new laptop France, ****, thousands of people Source: ****

2.3 When, how often and why: time spent on laptops

Laptop owners are vigorous users of this type of device. In fact, almost **% of owners use their laptops every day or almost every day. **.*% use their laptops * to * times a week, *% * to * times a month and *.*% less than * times a month [***].

Frequency of laptop use by owners France, ****, in Source: ****

In terms of reasons for use, outside of work, the French mainly use their laptops for the following reasons: Communication (***) Social networking Video streaming Video gaming Surfing the Internet Online shopping Reading the news Applications (***) Reading e-books

Of these categories, the first four account for **% of the time spent on laptops by the French in ****. In fact, for communication alone, * billion hours were spent on laptops by the French in **** [***].

Laptop use in France France, ****, in billions of hours Source: ****

2.4 The latest demand trends

Laptop computers are fairly mature products that have been around for decades. However, they are constantly evolving, and consumers continue to express their preferences. The changes are rarely radical (***).

One major trend is that laptops with larger bezels (***) are less popular, and manufacturers are taking notice. Smaller bezels increase the usable screen area, and laptops with smaller bezels are becoming increasingly common.

Features that were previously found mainly in smartphones and tablets are increasingly being integrated into notebooks. The touch screen is one such feature, but there is also a growing range of smaller, more flexible laptops.

Laptop weight is also an important feature for consumers, and every few years there is a gradual shift in the weight of laptops. Laptops weighing between *.* and *.* kg are commonplace, but manufacturers are now systematically reaching the * kg target.

As with weight, the thickness of a laptop is a determining factor for some consumers, and the two are often linked. The MacBook Air was the first "ultra-thin" laptop, but the range is now abundant.

Integrating Wi-Fi * (***) is becoming essential for some when purchasing a laptop. Wi-Fi * is claimed to be **% faster, and its range has been increased by **%. [***]

2.5 The French and laptop brands

The French and major laptop brands France, ****, in Opinionway

The most popular brand is Samsung with **% "likes". The least popular is Intel, with *% "dislikes" and only **% "likes".

Share of French people saying they like these laptop brands by age France, ****, in Opinionway

Asus, Acer and Intel are particularly popular among the older age groups. HP seems to be the most balanced brand: it is equally popular in all age categories.

Share of French people who say they like these laptop brands, by CSP France, ****, in % Opinionway

Microsoft, HP and Intel are the most popular brands among the inactive. The two brands with the highest "like" rates among CSP+ are Samsung and Intel.

3.1 Market leaders

The French notebook market is dominated by very few players. The top four brands account for over **% of market share in value and volume. The biggest player is Asus, with **% of the volume and **% of the value of this market[***].

Notebook market share by brand France, ****, in Source: ****

Market share of the main notebook brands by value and volume France, ****, in Source: ****

3.2 Production and distribution

The diagram below shows the stages in the notebook production process.

Most brands, including some of the biggest, do not design or assemble their own notebooks. Instead, original design manufacturers (***) design different models, and brands then choose the ones they like. Notebooks are generally assembled in outsourced factories by external contractors.

Notebooks have two ways of reaching a customer, either directly through the company, or through an intermediary, usually a retailer.

Both channels have advantages and disadvantages.

In France, most people buy laptops indirectly from retailers and distributors, Apple being the only major company to sell laptops directly to customers [***].

The French are also increasingly buying their laptops online. In a study conducted by eCommerceDB, Amazon was found to be the preferred place for the French to purchase their electronic devices [***].

France's favorite sites for buying electronic devices France, ****, in billions of euros Source: ****

4.1 Prices and parameters

Notebook prices are determined by a number of factors. Naturally, brand is a factor, but less so than you might think. In general, it is a price-increasing factor when it comes to high-end laptops such as those from Apple or Alienware. The usual determining factors that raise or lower the price are performance-related. The most important of these are:

Screen size Processor speed Hard disk speed/capacity RAM thickness and weight Battery life

There's no fixed formula for determining which factor drives the price up or down. Some "big" computers with low processing power are more expensive than smaller computers with higher processing power (***). Naturally, features such as higher processing speed, greater hard disk capacity, light weight and longer battery life tend to push prices up. As computers are easily adaptable to consumer needs, and the same laptop model but with different specifications is widely available, prices vary from one laptop to another.

Source: ****

4.2 Offer typology

The notebook market is more varied than you might think, and under the umbrella term "notebook" you'll find a variety of different but similar devices.

Notebook

This is the classic notebook. This device strikes a good balance between practicality/functionality and flexibility/portability. As mentioned above, they vary in size and specification. Very affordable models can be found just as easily as expensive ones.

Ultraportable

also known as a "sub-notebook", this type of laptop puts portability first. It is very thin and light, generally weighing in at * kg or less. Because of its thinness, features such as ports (***) are almost totally excluded, with the exception of a charging port.

Ultrabook

This is a sub-category of the ultraportable, created by Intel. This type of device must comply with strict criteria concerning specifications such as size and weight, the chips used and battery life. They are particularly well known for the anti-theft technology built into their hardware.

Netbook

Netbooks are small, portable computers known for their affordability. Their low cost is reflected in their low RAM, storage space and speed. Their low processing speed is the result of a device designed primarily for Internet browsing (***).

Chromebook

These devices run the ChromeOS operating system. ...

4.3 Brands in the notebook market

In France, few brands dominate the market. In ****, *.* million French people said they had an HP laptop, followed by nearly *.* million who had Asus. *.* million had Acer laptops and * million had Apple and Lenovo laptops[***].

Most popular computer and netbook brands France, ****, in millions of consumers Source: ****

Presence of laptop brands in French households France, ****, in Source: ****

5.1 Regulations

Many consumers often throw away an appliance when it's slightly broken, preferring to buy a new one because repair costs are too high. But in fact, **% of Europeans prefer to repair their appliances rather than replace them, and almost **% believe that manufacturers should be legally obliged to make repair more financially accessible.

At the end of ****, the European Parliament voted in favor of a "right to repair"[***]. The aim is to make "repairs more attractive, more systematic and more cost-effective, whether through the extension of warranties, the provision of guarantees for replaced parts or better access to repair and maintenance information". In this case, the burden of costs would fall on manufacturers.

In a similar vein, in early ****, a new law was passed in France, the Loi sur la Protection de l'Environnement, an anti-waste law. Manufacturers and sellers of electronic devices (***) assign a color code to their products based on a "repair index". This index indicates how easy or difficult it is to repair a product. This color code is used to inform consumers before they buy a product, with the aim of reducing waste and "combating programmed obsolescence".

The color code ranges from red (***) has a score of *.*, while the ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Apple TV
• HP Hewlett Packard
• Dell
• Toshiba Corporation
• Cdiscount (CNova)
• Acer
• Fnac Darty
• Lenovo
• Medion (Lenovo group)
• Packard Bell (Acer Group)
• Razer
• Gigabyte
• Teclast
• ACCESS 2 IT