PC Shipments Witness Decline As The Industry Readies For Windows 10, Says Gartner

As computing is increasingly shifting to smartphones and tablets, PC shipments are likely to witness a continuous decline in the years to come. As per market research firm, Gartner, PC shipments are projected to decline 4.4 percent in 2015.

According to preliminary results revealed by Gartner, Worldwide PC shipments totalled 68.4 million units in Q2 2015, which is a 9.5 percent decline from the same period in 2014. Gartner notes that this has been the steepest decline of PC shipment since the third quarter of 2013.

Though Gartner analysts say that there are many factors responsible for decline in PC shipments, they specifically mentioned three major reasons behind it. "The price hike of PCs became more apparent in some regions due to a sharp appreciation of the U.S. dollar against local currencies," says Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. The price hike could hinder PC demand in these regions. Secondly, the worldwide PC market experienced unusually positive desk-based growth last year due to the end of Windows XP support. After the XP impact was phased out, there have not been any major growth drivers to stimulate a PC refresh. Lastly, the Windows 10 launch scheduled for 3Q15 has created self-regulated inventory control. PC vendors and the channels tried clearing inventory as much as possible before the Windows 10 launch.

However, analysts explain that these inhibitors are temporary and will not change the PC market’s structure and the PC market is likely to get back to growth track in 2016, however, the growth will be slow and steady.

According to a report on Bidness Etc, in emerging economies, consumers in the rising middle class group are moving towards mobile computing over PCs and even the corporations have moderated their spending on PC upgrades.

In the second quarter of 2015, Lenovo maintained the top position in PC shipments, globally, but since Q2 2013, the company suffered a year-on-year shipment decline for the first time. The company witnessed double digit shipment decline in EMEA, Latin America and Japan.

After witnessing five consecutive quarters of PC shipment growth, HP also experienced a decline in its shipment. The company saw steep decline in EMEA region mainly due to the currency impact. Tight inventory controls in the consumer market before the launch of Windows 10 was also one of the factors that impacted the company.

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