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Macintosh Market Data Sources

Creating a value proposition for any new product means defining three things: the total market size for the product; the target market, or who within the larger market will see the greatest value in the product; and the product position, or competitive analysis of the product for that target group of potential customers.

Defining these criteria is the first step towards validating a development investment for a new product and creating a marketing plan and this process includes acquiring supporting material such as analyst data, market forecasts, growth trends for the market segments, and total market sizes. Below you’ll find links to an array of research sources that cover aspects of the Macintosh market.


Determining the Target Market

After sizing the broadest possible market, it is useful to segment the population, based on a variety of demographic and psychographic criteria, in order to determine the target market.

Information on specific target groups can come from the same sources as market size information, but also from more specific sources.

  • ClickZ Stats (formerly CyberAtlas) has information on online behavior and other Internet trends and statistics
  • Forrester provides information on consumer devices (e.g., set-top boxes, cell phones, audio players), music downloads, device networking, connectivity (e.g. broadband, Bluetooth), and gaming
  • Quality Education Data provides information on the education market, primarily K-12
  • IDC provides information on IT in general, including hardware, software, consumer devices, connectivity (e.g., wireless), total cost ownership, grid/cluster computing, IT business strategies, vertical markets, market size, forecasting, price comparisons, etc.
  • Gartner covers the same topics as IDC, though Gartner and IDC package their data differently
  • Nielsen//NetRatings provides information on Internet usage, including Web site audience measurement, Internet media strategies, Browser market share, broadband usage, and time spent online
  • NPD has information on the retail sales of hardware, software, consumer electronics in the U.S. (e.g. FireWire cards, audio players)
  • TrendWatch has information on the graphics, visual effects, TV and broadcast markets
  • TrendWatch Graphic Arts provides information on the creative markets: design & production, publishing, printing, and Internet
  • Lyra Research provides information on the imaging industry
  • Technology Business Research provides information on the computer and networking industries
  • comScore Media Metrix has information on web site traffic and usage, visitor demographics, local market analyses, and user buying power
  • InfoTrends Research Group provides information on the digital photography, scanner, image processing and Internet imaging markets in North America


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