In-plant Purchasing Decisions in a Recession

Overall, a majority of respondents chose to cut back on spending, putting hardware and software purchases on hold. About 61.1 percent of in-plant participants stated that they are currently not planning to purchase any hardware in 2009. The remaining 38.9 percent of respondents, who are looking to acquire hardware, had fairly diverse purchase plans with a nearly 50/50 split between black-and-white and color solutions. When asked how they planned to acquire these devices, 45 percent said they would lease, while 55 percent said they would purchase—and 60 percent of the latter plan to use cash. (See chart.)