The netbook segment saw its first year-on-year decline in sales volume during the Back to School period.
According to research from GfK, netbooks sales volume fell by eight per cent year-on-year, while sales value declined by 13 per cent, the first decline for the sector since its emergence three years ago.
Despite the poor performance of netbooks, the laptop category returned to growth in August and September, recording volume growth of six per cent and one per cent respectively, while sales value improved by 18 and 12 per cent respectively.
The research also notes the emergence of the webbook category, which has seen 225 per cent growth between June and September, with GfK projecting a potential overlap between the webbook and netbook categories in the future.