The company’s new report contains analysis into the changing nature of PC buying across Europe. The findings clearly show that consumer behaviour segments out into four owner types.

The first are Multi-PC owners. These currently account for 23% of all PC ownership. As a type, they are predicted to grow to be the largest segment by 2005 at 40% of the total. Currently, these owners are more likely than others to be men (61%), to have above-average incomes, to be well-educated, and to use a PC at work (71%).

In terms of consumption, Multi-PC owners tend to demand high sophistication, and they generally value PCs as educational tools for themselves and their children. They are also characterised by their interest in the latest technology and software, and are eager to try out new "toys".

Replacement-PC owners represent the overall European PC market’s stable growth factor. They total about one-third of all current PC owners. As a group, they tend to be high-income singles or couples, and they too value improvements in peripheral products, in applications, and in computer games.

With PC penetration clearly past the early adoption phase in most of the EU, the more mainstream, less technology-proficient consumers are now beginning to buy their first PC. Representing 44% of current PC ownership, First-Time PC owners have more to learn and less to spend than the two groups above. They are also more likely to shop offline and to appreciate lower PC prices.

PC Holdouts are those consumers who currently restrict their technological uptake to just the bare necessities. For the vast majority of this sector, PCs do not qualify as a basic requirement. These consumers are also what could be termed "technology pessimists", and are well represented among older women, those with lower education levels and those on low income levels.