High Inventory and Low Demand Led to Second Consecutive Quarter of Historic Year-Over-Year Decline
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 55.2 million units in the first quarter of 2023, a 30% decrease from the first quarter of 2022, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. An unfavorable combination of oversupply and continued low PC demand due to economic uncertainties and a lack of purchase motivation led to the second consecutive quarter of historic year-over-year decline.
“PC pricing pressures intensified during the quarter as vendors offered considerable discounts to clear inventory,” said Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst at Gartner. “To drive demand, vendors temporarily reduced average selling prices (ASPs) of PCs already in the channels, but ASPs of new PCs shipping into the channels remained elevated due to inflation-driven supply chain cost increases.”
“Essentially, PC vendors pursued a strategy to protect margins rather than to pursue market share by lowering prices,” added Kitagawa. “ASPs will increase moderately in 2023 as vendors pass the cost increases for new PCs entering the channel to end users.”
The top vendors in the worldwide PC market remained unchanged in the first quarter of 2023, with Lenovo maintaining the No. 1 spot in shipments with 23.3% market share (see Table 1).
Table 1. Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q23 (Thousands of Units)
Notes: Data includes desktop and laptop PCs that are equipped with Windows, macOS and Chrome OS. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (April 2023)
Lenovo recorded the steepest annual shipment decline in its corporate history over two quarters. While the U.S. was a particularly challenging market for Lenovo, the company had modest growth in Japan driven by end of fiscal year PC purchases.
This was the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit shipment decline for HP. HP shipments in EMEA dropped by 37% compared to a year ago but declined less steeply in the U.S. market.
Dell saw its fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline. Asia Pacific was its hardest-hit market, with shipments down by over 40%. Dell’s decline was largely driven by the weak business PC market.
“Business PC demand was slow overall this quarter, but the small and midsize business (SMB) market was especially weak due to economic uncertainties,” said Kitagawa. “IT has remained a top area for SMB spending as organizations recognize the importance of leveraging technology for growth, but PCs are often the first area to face budget cuts as the product life can be extended. In contrast, spending in other technology segments such as software and IT services is expected to grow in 2023.”
Regional Overview
The U.S. PC market declined 25.8% in the first quarter of 2023. While the US economic outlook in the first quarter of 2023 was better than initially anticipated, particularly for consumer spending, it did not significantly impact PC sales as consumers opted to spend their money elsewhere.
Dell secured the top spot in the U.S. PC market based on shipments with 26.4% market share, while HP followed with 25.7% share (see Table 2).
Table 2. Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q23 (Thousands of Units)
Notes: Data includes desktop and laptop PCs that are equipped with Windows, macOS and Chrome OS. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (April 2023)
The EMEA PC market experienced a significant decline of 35.9% compared with a year ago, with shipment volumes for the whole region falling below the total U.S. shipment volume.
“The continued impact of political unrest, inflationary pressures, interest rate increases and a pending recession has culminated in another massive decline in the EMEA PC market,” said Kitagawa. “None of the top six vendors were immune from the collapse, all losing more than a third of their shipment volumes year-over-year.”
The Asia Pacific PC market also had a significant decline, with China suffering the most due to high inventory in the channel and weak demand. Outside of China, the PC market was also weak due to inflation, increasing interest rates and local currency depreciation. However, countries including India and Vietnam fared slightly better due to the shift of manufacturing sites and business operations out of China, as enterprises tried to diversify to reduce over-reliance on China as a single production source. The Japanese market saw a relatively moderate decline at 9.8% compared to other regions.
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe.
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Source: PC and Associates Consulting