(Weymouth, MA) June 27, 2012...InfoTrends has completed its multi-client study titled The Opportunity for Supplies in Latin America. Through surveys of 600 home respondents and 900 office respondents plus an additional 20 in-depth personal and phone interviews with key industry players, InfoTrends has uncovered differences in purchasing patterns for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) versus alternative brands were quite different for both the home and the office.

For home users, more than half of the respondents said they buy OEM products at an office supply store, but about half go to an independent vendor when they to go buy an aftermarket product. By country, Brazilian home users go to a more varied assortment of outlets for their OEM supplies, especially for laser printers. Half of the Brazilian home users that have laser printers report buying their supplies from an office supply store and the remaining half purchase at a variety of channels. In Mexico and Argentina, more home laser printer users reported much more frequently going to the office supply store for their supplies.

Where do you primarily purchase printer cartridges? (HOME; Laser vs. Inkjet)

Business also had a similar response to OEM versus aftermarket supplies. For alternative brand supplies, business also report going to an independent supplies vendor a significant portion of the time. As expected, all business report a significant use of B2B dealers and aftermarket is available at those dealers. Business also report buying supplies at retail for OEM and aftermarket. For both home and office, buying supplies from Internet supplies appears to be very low. However, unlike the purchase patterns by country for home users, there is not a large difference for Brazil versus the other two countries.
 

Where do you primarily purchase printer cartridges? (Office; Laser vs. Inkjet)

Although roughly half of the market is using OEM supplies, alternative brand supplies are important to users in this region who have a greater tendency to use refills and build new supplies. “Vendors that remain vigilant on protecting patents may help reduce the availability of new build products in this market, and draw attention to the machine brand supplies” said John Shane of InfoTrends. “Since counterfeiting has such a resounding effect on our respondents, vendors need to help their dealers and customers with education about counterfeit products.” By protecting legitimate supplies today, vendors will be able to reap the dividends of these efforts tomorrow.

The Opportunity for Supplies in Latin America takes an in-depth look at Latin America’s supplies market identifying the opportunities and obstacles to business expansion. It provides size and forecast of the Latin American supplies opportunity (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Rest of Latin America (ROLA) as well as provides print volumes and growth opportunities for paper, toner, and ink cartridge use.

This study also analyzes end-user preferences in terms of technology and device preference, OEM vs. aftermarket trends, buying behaviors, values, channels, and sustainability/ green issues.

For more information or to purchase this study, please contact Scott Phinney at +1 781 616 2123 or email scott_phinney@infotrends.com.

InfoTrends, a Questex company, is the leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industry. We provide research, analysis, forecasts, and advice to help clients understand market trends, identify opportunities, and develop strategies to grow their businesses. Additional information about InfoTrends is available on the Web at www.infotrends.com.

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For media inquiries contact Donna O'Malley at +1 781 616 2116 or donna_omalley@infotrends.com.