• Bloomberg, Friday, July 31, 2009 10:43 AM

There's a method to the seeming madness of retailers like Wal-Mart, Staples and Best Buy that are increasing inventory at the same time that they are slashing laptop prices to unheard-of levels (as if you didn't know that). They are counting on consumers to buy accessories and services that carry much higher margins, Courtney Dentch and Mark Clothier report.

Consumers spend almost as much on extras like bags and external hard drives as they do on the PC. Last year, people bought 89 cents' worth of accessories for every $1 spent on PCs, says Bob O'Donnell, an analyst with IDC.

"We can double or triple our [4%] share of the PC market relatively easily," says Staples COO Mike Miles. "It's a matter of advertising and investing in the stock. The challenge is we still struggle to break even on the sales of the hardware."

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