Computer gaming fad buoys IT sales growth

The growing interest in computer gaming among the new generation market as well as the IT-savvy professionals strongly buoyed the robust sales performance of the country’s IT hardware products, and services.

IT dealers and vendors nationwide have identified IT hardware products as the “bread and butter” revenue contributor of the IT sales in the Philippines, software product sales takeup on the other hand only comes second.

This is according to Computer Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers Association (COMDDAP), which is one of the largest IT resellers and distributors associations in the Philippines.

COMDDAP director Bing Lastrilla, who owns several IT-related businesses, said that fast takeup of hardware products in the Philippine market could boost the IT retail sector in the country in the next few years.

In fact, he said the hardware sales have been the industry’s biggest revenue contributor in the last couple of years, and this is expected to grow further, because of the growing market of computer and online gaming.

This is because there is a tremendous growing interest of the thick new generation, or young Filipinos, including IT-savvy individuals on computer gaming. Computer gaming requirements need constant update of PC gadgets, such as memory card, video card, hard disks, among others.

“Computer gaming is what drives the sales of the IT retail products and services in the Philippines. Everyone who is interested in computer gaming is constantly upgrading his PC hardware capacity, and thus pushing the good sales of hardware products of IT,” Lastrilla said.

Although, the corporate market is also a big contributor to the IT products’ sales in both hardware and software, Lastrilla said vendors and resellers now are also looking at the big consumer sector as the emerging market for IT products, and computer hardware products are now the most sellable in the consumer market.

He said there are even video-card products that are more expensive than the computer itself. Everyone in the consumer market is crazy about updating their hardware PC requirement, especially for the residential market, or the Internet Cafés to trail blaze with the changing requirement of more sophisticated computer or online games.

The gaming market in the Philippines is growing significantly. The new generation or the young market segment is not only the ones who are hooked in computer gaming but also young professionals, including fathers, and at some point women yuppies.

Although, the software sales have posted good sales take up, and is seen to grow in the next few years, this only comes next to the expected double or triple growth in computer hardware sales in the next few years, he stressed.— Ehda Dago-oc