Global PC shipments tank in the Covid-19 era
After a brief period of growth, both Gartner and IDC have reported that the global PC market has experienced its sharpest decline for some time.
The latest figures from Gartner claimed a 12.3% year-on-year decline with 51.6 million shipped in the first three months of the year, whereas IDC reported a 9.8% drop in sales of traditional PCs, noting 53.2 million shipments in Q1 2020.
Both Gartner and IDC named reduced supplies due to the disrupted supply chain back in China and coronavirus-led lockdown in major parts of the world as the two primary reasons behind this sharp decline.
Dropping numbers
Gartner also suggested that the pockets of demand driven by remote education seekers and remote workers could not be handled by the brands due to intermittent supply.
The firm reports that with the growing uncertainties in the market, small and mid-sized companies are likely to focus on controlling their PC expenditure. Gartner also expects enterprises to focus on operating their business normally and relocate IT procurement funds to business continuity planning after the lockdowns are eased.
On the other hand, IDC foresees that businesses may plan to invest in traditional computers as a part of their continuity plan. It suggests this investment in infrastructure for remote operations may lead to a steady and long-term demand for PC and peripherals.
Both Gartner and IDC listed Lenovo, HP and Dell as the top three vendors globally, accounting for over 65% of volume, a slight increase in overall market share when compared to the same period of 2019.
Going by both the reports, as the overall numbers dip, the top vendors stand a better chance to grab the market share from smaller players.
Gartner named Apple and Acer remained at the fourth and the fifth position with 6.9 and 5.6% share respectively, while IDC reported Acer in fourth position with a share of 6.3% while Apple is placed at the fifth position with 5.8%.
The Asia Pacific region has experienced a double-digit decline in the Q1 shipments, mainly due to the widespread shutdowns in China. IDC expects that the demand in this region may be negatively impacted for several months.
Gartner has rated the U.S as steady with almost no change though IDC has reported a dip of 4% in the shipments in the first quarter of 2020.