Global PC market picks up after two-year decline

Market research by International Data Corporation (IDC) has revealed that the global shipment of Personal Computers (PCs) picked up in the first quarter of 2024 after a two-year decline.

According to the report, the PC market grew 1.5 percent year-on-year, with 59.8 million shipments in the first quarter. It has also returned to pre-pandemic levels with the onset of a refresh cycle for PCs that were purchased during the pandemic.

Lenovo again held the top spot of the top five companies in the space and outgrew the market mainly due to the steep decline in shipments experienced in Q1 2023. Apple’s strong growth was also due to an outsized decline in the prior year.

“Lenovo’s shipment grew from 12.7 million units to 13.7 million year-on-year, with HP maintaining the same 12 million units during the same period.

“However, Dell Technologies saw a drop in its numbers from 9.5 million to 9.3 million. Apple progressed from 4.2 million to 4.8 million units, with Acer Group following suit from 3.4 to 3.7 million. Other companies like ASUS saw a decline in the same period,” IDC said.

A further breakdown revealed that Lenovo’s market share grew from 21.6 percent to 23 percent; HP moved from 20.4 percent to 20.1 percent; Dell Technologies declined from 16.1 percent to 15.5, Apple moved from 7.1 percent to 8.1 percent; Acer Group moved from 5.6 percent to 6.2.

IDC noted that inflation numbers have begun to reduce globally, hence the recovery of PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions.

“With inflation numbers trending down, PC shipments have begun to recover in most regions, leading to growth in the Americas as well as Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). However, the deflationary pressures in China directly impacted the global PC market,” the data insight firm stated.

IDC also highlighted that weak demand in China led to another quarter of declines for global desktop shipments, which already faced pressure from notebooks as the preferred form factor.

“Despite China’s struggles, the recovery is expected to continue in 2024 as newer AI PCs hit shelves later this year and as commercial buyers begin refreshing the PCs that were purchased during the pandemic,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said. “Along with shipment growth, AI PCs are also expected to carry higher price tags, providing further opportunity for PC and component makers.”