The following graph shows the global sales of personal computers (PCs) between 2011 and 2015 - Edexcel - A-Level Economics A - Question 5 - 2018 - Paper 1

One likely reason for the decrease in sales of PCs is the development of substitutes such as tablets or smartphones. These devices offer similar functionalities with greater portability and often have features that cater to the mobile lifestyle of many consumers.

For instance, the rise of mobile computing has led many users to prefer devices like iPads and iPhones over traditional PCs, which has influenced overall sales negatively.

To calculate the five-firm concentration ratio, sum up the sales of the top five companies:

• Lenovo: 57.182 million
• HP: 53.534 million
• Dell: 39.049 million
• Apple: 20.794 million
• Acer Group: 16.083 million

1. Calculate the total sales of these companies:

   $$ext{Total Sales of Top 5} = 57.182 + 53.534 + 39.049 + 20.794 + 16.083 = 186.642 ext{ million}$$

2. Then, calculate the concentration ratio using the total sales of PCs in the market (276 million):

   ext{Concentration Ratio} = rac{ ext{Total Sales of Top 5}}{ ext{Total Sales of PCs}} imes 100 = rac{186.642}{276} imes 100 \

ightarrow 67.6%

$$Thus, the concentration ratio is approximately 67.6$$