PC shipments are in decline worldwide according to Gartner. Shipments totaled 68.9 million units in the third quarter of 2016, a 5.7 per cent decline from the third quarter of 2015. This marks the eighth consecutive quarter of PC shipment decline, the longest declining period in the history of the PC industry.
A record high 78 per cent of PC shipments in the third quarter came from the top six vendors. HP Inc., Dell, and Asus each reported growth, while Lenovo, Apple, and Acer saw a decline. Lenovo maintains the top position as the worldwide market leader, but HP Inc. is nearly tied for that top spot. HP Inc. and Dell have recorded growth since the second quarter of 2016, while Lenovo has now seen six consecutive quarters of year-over-year shipment declines. The stabilization of the PC business market, a key component of HP Inc. and Dell’s success, could be the reason for this.
PC shipments in the United States totaled 16.2 million units, a 0.3 per cent decline from the same period last year, marking the second consecutive quarter of flat year-over-year growth. Meanwhile, Asia/Pacific PC shipments totaled 24.7 million units, a 7.6 per cent decline; EMEA PC shipments totaled 19.2 million units, a 3.3 per cent decline.
“There are two fundamental issues that have impacted PC market results: the extension of the lifetime of the PC caused by the excess of consumer devices, and weak PC consumer demand in emerging markets,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, in the release. “According to our 2016 personal technology survey, the majority of consumers own, and use, at least three different types of devices in mature markets. Among these devices, the PC is not a high priority device for the majority of consumers, so they do not feel the need to upgrade their PCs as often as they used to. Some may never decide to upgrade to a PC again. Consumers in emerging markets primarily use smartphones or phablets for their computing needs, and they don’t find the need to use a PC as much as consumers in mature markets.”
Gartner calculates the PC shipments of desk-based PCs, notebook PCs, and ultramobile premiums like the Microsoft Surface. This report does not include devices such as Chromebooks or iPads.