According to a study completed by Microsoft Home, considerable growth can be expected over the next few years in sales of hardware, software and peripherals into the consumer market in Spain. Currently 15.7% of Spanish homes have some kind of perso nal computer – 6.3% of homes have a 80386 or superior model, although this figure rises to 10% in Madrid and the surrounding area and 8.8% in Catalonia. 1995 sales of 726,467 personal computers are expected to climb 24% to 902,000 units sold in 1996 , a third of which are expected to find their way into the home. Some 2.3% of Spanish homes now have equipment that has a CD-ROM drive, sales of which grew 80% in 1995, with growth of 85% forecast for 1996. According to Microsoft Home’s study, almost 100% of personal computers sold last Christmas featured a CD-ROM drive, and a total installed base of 560,000 drives is seen by year-end. The consumer software market in Spain was reported to be worth $22.4m in 1995, with growth of 30% to 35% fore cast for this year. Games accounted for 63% of last year’s sales, while educational programs represented 10%. The Internet is also having a stimulating effect on the home market. In less than two years the number of Internet users has grown to some 400,000, who are expected to boost the hitherto meagre modem market. The study predicts that by the end of 1996 the number of modems installed will jump by 232% to top 91,175. The manufacturers themselves have also testified to buoyant consumer sale s: IBM Espana SA’s personal computing division recently reported spectacular growth of 181% for the first quarter of 1996. Meanwhile Microsoft Home announced sales of $5.6m in Spain for 1995 and quoted expected growth of around 30% in 1996. To encourage buyers in Spain, Microsoft has set out to translate as many products as possible and hopes to have 33 of its titles available in Spanish by the end of its campaign.
