After the rebound in the first two years of the corona pandemic, PC sales have recently plummeted again. Market researchers pointed to ongoing bottlenecks in components and logistics, which are now exacerbated by a decline in demand due to high inflation and a weak economy.
According to calculations by analysis firm IDC, second-quarter sales fell 15.3 percent year-on-year to 71.3 million personal computers. Competitor Gartner calculated a decrease of 12.6 percent to more than 72 million devices.
Fear of recession dampens demand
Fears of a recession dampened demand across all market segments, said IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani. Consumers were hesitant, although demand from companies was higher, they had also postponed PC purchases. There would also be fewer orders from the education market. At the same time, more PCs are still being sold than before the pandemic: no fewer than 65 million units were sold in the second quarter of 2019.
Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa sees supply chain disruptions as the main reason for the decline. At the same time, she expects the effects of the economic situation on product supply: inflation drives up costs for suppliers, and in order to secure their profits, they must push through higher average prices amid falling demand.
12 percent minus at Lenovo, 27.5 at HP
For the market leader Lenovo, both IT market researchers calculated a revenue decline of more than 12 percent for the past quarter. At number two, HP, sales fell 27.5 percent year-over-year. Dell came in third in the quarter with a minus of 5 percent.
At Apple, estimates vary: IDC fell 22.5 percent to 4.8 million Mac computers, while sales rose 9.3 percent to 6.36 million units, according to Gartner. The market researchers base themselves, among other things, on their own analyzes of the sales channels, while many companies no longer publish sales figures.
During the pandemic, the PC market, which had been weak for a long time, had experienced a renaissance with more home working and learning.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
