BUYING PATTERNS CHANGE FOR COMPUTERS

By 1994 one in five personal computers will be delivered by "alternate channel" resellers, including mass merchants, consumer electronics stores, and mail order firms, according to a report by International Data Corporation. This represents twice as many PCs being purchased through these channels as in 1990. The shift is due to both the increasingly commoditized nature of personal computers and the increasing gap between the low-end and high-end of the product spectrum.