Biggest decline in global sales of personal computers in two decades

Global personal computer (PC) sales have declined the most in the last two decades in the September quarter. Shipments of desktops and laptops declined by about 19.5 percent year-on-year to about 68 million units. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of decline in PC shipments. The report of market research firm Gartner states that due to people returning to office and reopening of schools, the demand for PC has reduced in both consumer and enterprise segments. “Excessive inventory has become a major problem due to weak demand for PCs in both consumer and enterprise segments as supply chain disruptions ease,” said Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa. Many consumers had purchased new personal computers in the last two years and hence demand in this segment is weak. Due to tensions between some countries and weak economic conditions, companies have reduced their spending on IT and PCs are not their priority. Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) witnessed the biggest decline of 26.4 percent in the September quarter. This is the third consecutive quarter of decline in sales in this region. Weak economic conditions in Europe and the war between Ukraine and Russia are impacting demand. Gartner says that many PC vendors in Russia closed their businesses in the first two quarters of this year. This has had a negative impact on total shipments and is visible in comparison on a year-on-year basis. PC sales in Asia Pacific have declined by 16.6 percent on a year-on-year basis. The main reason for this is the lockdown due to the epidemic in many cities of China. This has slowed down the business of companies and reduced the demand for personal computers in consumer, government and enterprise segments. Dell ranked first in the PC market in terms of total PC shipments. Its market share was 26.8 percent. It was followed by HP (about 23.2 percent), Apple (16 percent) and Lenovo (about 15.8 percent). Dell’s laptop shipments have declined in all regions except Japan. However, its desktop shipments have increased on a year-on-year basis in all regions except Asia Pacific.