IDC reported a 29% decline in global PC shipments in January-March, while Canalys noted a fall of 33%.
Global PC shipments have contracted in the first quarter of 2023 due to weak demand, according to reports by International Data Corporation (IDC) and Canalys. Both agencies expect growth of PC shipments to return towards the later part of the year.
According to IDC, global PC shipments in the January-March quarter stood at 56.9 million units, down 29% compared to the same quarter in 2022. Canalys report also noted a decline in total shipments of desktops and notebooks by 33% to 54 million units in 1Q 2023, representing the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit annual declines.
According to data by both firms, despite a large annual decline of 30%, Lenovo topped the market for PC shipments with 12.7 million units. HP followed with 12.0 million units of shipments and underwent a less dramatic drop of 24%. Dell Technologies claimed third place in terms of quarterly shipments with 9.5 million units, down 31%. Canalys highlighted that Dell’s shipment fell below the 10-million-unit mark for the first time since 1Q 2018.
Apple stood in fourth place and worldwide shipment of MacBook was about 4 million units. However, the American multinational tech major faced the largest decline in annual growth among the top five vendors. The total shipments of Macs dropped 41% by IDC and 46% by Canalys. Asus secured the fifth position with 3.9 million units of shipments and about a 30% decline in annual growth.
Additionally, Lenovo also topped in terms of market share in the first quarter of this year. The Chinese company reported a market share of 22% by IDC and 24% by Canalys. It was followed by HP, Dell, Apple, and Asus.
“Demand across all customer segments remains dampened, with more pressure arising from further interest rate increases in the US, Europe and other markets, where reducing inflation is a top priority,” said Ishan Dutt, Senior Analyst at Canalys.
“Consumers and businesses will remain cautious about outlays on new PCs in the short term, with significant market recovery only expected to kick in during the fourth quarter of 2023,” he added.
Additionally, the IDC report highlighted excess inventory as another contributing factor to the precipitous drop in PC shipments during the January-March quarter. Despite heavy discounting, it added that PC inventory is expected to stay elevated potentially till the third quarter. However, one benefit of the pause in growth and demand is that it could give suppliers some room to make changes as many factories begin to explore production options outside China. Additionally, PC makers have begun to pull in orders for Chromebooks due to an expected increase in licensing costs later this year, IDC noted.
“By 2024, an aging installed base will start coming up for refresh,” said Linn Huang, research vice president, Devices and Displays at IDC. “If the economy is trending upwards by then, we expect significant market upside as consumers look to refresh, schools seek to replace worn down Chromebooks, and businesses move to Windows 11. If recession in key markets drags on into next year, recovery could be a slog.”
