"The increase in numbers seems to stem from Dell's shift out of direct sales to the sale of systems at retailers like Best Buy and Wal-Mart"
WELL DUH !
Walmart stocks the cheaper models of Dell configurations - you won't find any XPS on their shelves. Walmart typicaly stocks the mid priced HP laptops for $700 - $1200. When the average lay person is shopping for a computer - especially whilst shopping for groceries, they are more likely to pick a name they recognize for a price they can afford.
It's a business and they are selling. Most computer consumers are not high end users. Higher end and more computer savy users typically never buy at a retail outlet, unless they are buying parts to build their own.
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"The increase in numbers seems to stem from Dell's shift out of direct sales to the sale of systems at retailers like Best Buy and Wal-Mart"
WELL DUH !
Walmart stocks the cheaper models of Dell configurations - you won't find any XPS on their shelves. Walmart typicaly stocks the mid priced HP laptops for $700 - $1200. When the average lay person is shopping for a computer - especially whilst shopping for groceries, they are more likely to pick a name they recognize for a price they can afford.
And that is a really good thing.
It's a business and they are selling. Most computer consumers are not high end users. Higher end and more computer savy users typically never buy at a retail outlet, unless they are buying parts to build their own.
you buy parts at Walmart?
They're rolling back prices on motherboards!