Al fine di verificare la fondatezza delle voci legate a una possibile "cannibalizzazione" eseguita dall'iPad di Apple ai danni del mercato dei PC, ed in particolare di quello che ruota intorno ai computer Windows based di tipo notebook, la società statunitense NPD Group ha dato vita ad un sondaggio (in gergo "survey", ndr) mediante il quale è emerso che soltanto il 13% degli acquirenti di un iPad ha scelto tale sistema al posto di un PC.

La maggior parte degli utenti di iPad è invece rappresentata soprattutto da lettori di e-book; più in dettaglio, il 24% dei possessori di iPad ha dichiarato di averlo acquistato proprio per le funzionalità tipiche di un e-book reader, di cui il prodotto di Apple è dotato.

Dalla survey emerge, inoltre, un altro dato, che va nella direzione contraria all'idea di "cannibalizzazione" dei PC: il 38% degli acquirenti di iPad sono infatti anche possessori di iPhone mentre il 48% ha un computer Mac. Come dire, l'iPad è ancora un fenomeno riconducibile sostanzialmente ai fan di Apple, anche se il trend in questo senso punta verso un allargamento del bacino e della tipologia di utenza.

Segue il comunicato stampa integrale di NPD Group.

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Contrary to popular belief, the iPad isn't causing cannibalization in the PC market because iPad owners don't exhibit the same buying and ownership patterns as the typical consumer electronics customer, according to leading market research company The NPD Group's new report iPad Owner Survey.

According to the report, only 13 percent of iPad owners surveyed bought an iPad instead of a PC, while 24 percent replaced a planned e-reader purchase with an iPad. iPad owners, especially the consumers who purchased an iPad within 2 months of launch, are significantly more likely to own Apple products and newer technologies, such as e-readers and smartphones.

iPad owners are much more likely than the overall population to own Apple computers, with 48 percent owning a Mac desktop or Mac notebook, while NPD's Online Household Penetration Study fielded earlier this year found Macs in only about 11 percent of households. In fact, of consumers who bought iPads in the two month initial launch phase 50 percent owned an Apple computer while that number dipped to 45 percent among later buyers. These buyers were also much less likely to own Windows desktops with just 53 percent of iPad owners overall having a Windows desktop compared to 75 percent of total households. iPhone ownership also correlated very closely to iPad owners, as 38 percent of iPad owners also own an iPhone.

"Early adopters, like iPad owners, follow a traditional pattern of consumer behavior; they purchase products because they want them, not because they need them," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. "However, as Apple increases iPad distribution and consumer interest peaks, the profile of an iPad owner is much more likely to mirror the overall tech population. When that does happen other tech products with similar usage profiles as the iPad, such as notebooks, netbooks, and e-readers will come under increased pressure from the iPad. Until then, however, most iPad sales are likely to be incremental additional technology devices in the home, rather than a one-for-one replacement of a planned purchase."

For more insight from Stephen Baker about how the iPad is affecting the PC market read his latest blog post on The NPD Group Blog.

Methodology

The online survey was fielded in August to more than 500 adult iPad owners by re-contacting them after being identified by screening the NPD Opt in Online panel.

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