Retail in Asia

In Trends

Sales of ultrathin notebooks grows 29pc in Korea

Sales of ultrathin laptops or those weighing less than 2.3 kg and measuring less than 21mm in height has been steadily gaining share in the laptop market consecutively in the last five years in Korea, research firm GfK said.

Nearly 1.7 million laptops were sold in retail shops in Korea in 2013 or around 8 percent less than the previous year. The ultrathin segment accounted for 17 percent in 2012 but managed to grow its share substantially to reach 29 percent within a year as consumers snapped up some 490,000 units of such laptops in 2013, or a 58 percent growth over the previous year.

“The ultrathin version of laptop cost around 20 percent more than the normal type but Koreans do not mind forking out the extra money to buy this compact model, which has been gaining immense popularity in recent years,” said Chang KyungEun, Managing Director of GfK in Korea.

In spite of the shrinkage of the overall value of the laptop market by 11 percent in 2013, the ultrathin segment drew over USD502 million in sales revenue—USD99 million, or 26 percent more than the year before.

The numbers of models available in the local market has more than doubled in the past 12 months, from 308 in 2012 to 685 in 2013, providing a wider mix of features and designs for consumers to choose from.