Global PC market down again in 2023, unparalleled in industry’s history

By iednewsdesk On Jan 11, 2024

Global PC shipments declined 13.9 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, experiencing unprecedented consecutive declines and marking a stark departure from historical trends tracked since 1995.

In 2022, shipment volume plummeted 16.5 per cent compared to the previous year, and preliminary results suggest an additional 13.9 per cent contraction in 2023 compared to 2022, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

This downturn, unparalleled in the industry’s recorded history, reflects the aftermath of the significant surge in PC purchases driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Across the major technology categories, the PC market has arguably been the biggest roller coaster in terms of ups and downs over the past four years,” said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.

Lenovo with 59 million units and 22.7 per cent market share led the global PC market, followed by HP Inc with 52.9 million units and 20.4 per cent share and Dell with 40 million units shipped with 15.4 per cent market share. While the market was down again in 2023 in terms of shipments, there is a lot of positive momentum for PCs looking forward.

“While AI has clearly captured everyone’s attention, it shouldn’t be overlooked that 2024 is expected to be a strong year for commercial PC refresh, and the advancements around gaming PCs continues to drive market excitement,” he noted.

The traditional PC market saw nearly 67.1 million PCs shipped in the fourth quarter of 2023, which was down 2.7 per cent from the prior year, according to preliminary results. The silver lining is that the market contractions appear to have bottomed out and growth is expected in 2024.

Despite the improved results, the fourth quarter was the eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year shipment volume contraction. The holiday quarter shipments also marked the lowest fourth quarter volume since 4Q06, underscoring a market recovering slowly amidst weak demand and reliance on substantial promotions, said the IDC report.