PC Growth Outpaces Mac Growth In November

It looks like he may be right. They are postponing purchases.

Sales of Apple's Macintosh computers in the U.S. were flat in November, while sales of PCs running Microsoft Windows grew 7 percent in November, according to a report issued by market researcher NPD Group. That's a marked change from recent years when Apple had been gaining market share against PCs.

Apple is taking a hit on the desktop. Sales of Mac desktop computers plunged 38 percent in November, according to the report, while sales of Windows desktop PCs declined only 15 percent. Sales growth for Mac notebooks outpaced that of Windows notebooks, 22 percent vs. 15 percent, but that wasn't enough to overcome Apple's falling desktop sales.

Apple has generally taken a premium-pricing approach in its sales and marketing strategy. NPD analyst Stephen Barker told Reuters that while consumers still apparently perceive Apple laptops as providing additional value, that's less true with iMac desktops that he said are in need of a refresh.