HOME PC USE GROWING
By Adnews Staff
Half of all Canadian households now own a personal computer, according to a survey by ACNielsen of Markham, Ont. This figure is up three percentage points from 1995 and is six points higher than 1994. The Toronto area has the highest penetration of home personal computers at 60.7%. Alberta and B.C. followed closely with 56.7% and 55.3% respectively. Excluding Montreal, Quebec has the lowest penetration level in the country. The Maritimes, 41.4% of households have personal computers. Manitoba and Saskatchewan come up the middle with a penetration level of 43.3%. Thirty-eight per cent of Canadian households are planning to purchase a PC sometime in the future. Of those, 40% are first time buyers. Fifty-four per cent of respondents said they bought their computer from a computer or electronics specialty service. While 58% of home PCs have fax capabilities, only half of those owners use the fax feature.