CII FINDS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HOUSEHOLDS BUYING PCS FROM MANUFACTURERS AND
THOSE BUYING FROM STORES

DIRECT BUYERS SHOW HIGHER SPENDING, TECHNICAL SOPHISTICATION, EDUCATION

LA JOLLA, Calif., Oct. 24, 1995 - New research from Computer Intelligence
InfoCorp (CII) indicates that households who obtain home computers
directly from manufacturers tend to have higher education, income, and
computer literacy levels than indirect purchasers.

The findings are drawn from CII's Consumer Technology Index (CTI), the most
comprehensive survey of personal computer use in the U.S. Direct purchases
are defined as those made via telephone or mail order from PC
manufacturers; indirect purchases are made from resellers such as dealers,
computer superstores, or consumer electronics stores.

CTI shows that direct buyers are prepared to spend more on computers than
indirect purchasers, with 21 percent spending $3,000 or more on the
household's initial acquisition of PC hardware, versus 12 percent for
indirect purchases.

AMOUNT SPENT ON INITIAL PC PURCHASE BY PURCHASE CHANNEL

 Household PC Expenditure        Direct      Indirect
 Under $500.00                   5%          6%
 $500.00-$999.99                 6%          8%
 $1,000.00-$1,499.99             16%         22%
 $1,500.00-$1,999.99             19%         24%
 $2,000.00-

Source: Consumer Technology Index 1995

Direct purchasers are somewhat more likely to be buying replacement (36
percent vs. 29 percent) or additional PCs (20 percent vs. 13 percent). Of
direct purchasers, 44 percent are buying their first PCs, compared to 58
percent of indirect purchasers. When asked about their technological
sophistication, 35 percent of direct purchasing households claim extremely
high computer literacy, compared with 21 percent of indirect purchasers.
Households with higher education levels are also more likely to be direct
purchasers.

"We should bear in mind that PC household demographics are already
impressive, compared to the average U.S. household demographic," noted
Matt Sargent, a CII Industry Analyst. "But the cream really rises to the
top when you look at the people who feel they know enough about what
they're buying to skip the middleman and go directly to the source. The
skills they've already acquired overcome any need for the locally-based
sales and service that indirect channels provide. This points to a niche
for the indirect channels: the neophyte, first- time buyer."

CII's annual Consumer Technology Index study is the largest, most
comprehensive survey of personal computer usage in the United States. The
annual 12-page survey polls more than 16,000 individuals throughout the
U.S. on the types and brands of equipment used at home and in the
workplace. The survey also gathers extensive demographic information from
respondents and ascertains their future PC purchase plans.

Computer Intelligence InfoCorp, a Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, is the
leading source of fact-based information for the computer and
communications industries. CII's extensive research capabilities provide a
wide variety of products and services that help computer and
communications companies sell and market more effectively. All of the
company's products and services are based on proprietary information
databases built and maintained by CII specialists. Headquartered in La
Jolla, Computer Intelligence InfoCorp has offices in Boston; Farmington,
Conn.; Mountain View, Calif.; and Europe. Samples of CII's extensive
market data and research results, timely commentary from industry
authorities and previews of upcoming technology events are available on
the company's Home Page on the World Wide Web (http://www.compint.com).
 
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