Tablets continue to eat into PC share

PC shipments worldwide dropped to 76 million units in Q2 2013, a 10.9% decrease from same period last year

Increased use of tablets continued to impact personal computer (PC) sales. The PC shipments worldwide stood at 76 million units in the second quarter of 2013, a 10.9 per cent fall from the corresponding period last year, according to preliminary results by Gartner Inc.

This marks a fifth consecutive quarter of declining shipments, which is the longest duration of fall in the PC market’s history. All regions showed a decline compared to a year ago. The fall in the Asia-Pacific PC market continued, showing five quarters of decline, while the Europe, West Asia and Africa regions saw two consecutive quarters of double-digit decline.

“We are seeing the market reduction directly tied to the shrinking installed base of PCs, as inexpensive tablets displace the low-end machines used primarily for consumption in mature and developed markets,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “In emerging markets, inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, who at best are deferring the purchase of a PC. This is also accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market.”

In the Asia-Pacific, PC shipments surpassed 26.8 million units in the second quarter, an 11.5 per cent fall from the June quarter of 2012. All country markets across the region showed weakness but India performed slightly better due to a state PC tender fulfillment. China’s PC shipment remained weak, as the consumer market was hampered with lack of new demand generation programmes, such as the subsidised PC programme in the rural centres.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Lenovo Group Ltd’s neck-to-neck competition continued. This time, Lenovo was back in the top position by only a small difference in share. Lenovo showed mixed regional results, as it experienced strong growth in the Americas and the Europe, West Asia and Africa regions, while showing a major decline in Asia-Pacific. Weakness in China was most likely the contributor of Lenovo’s shipment decline in the region as the majority of its volume came from China.

While HP was slightly behind the US-based company is the market leader in key regions, including the US, Europe and  Latin America, said the report. Asia-Pacific has been a weakness for three years for HP, but preliminary second quarter results suggest an improvement of its performance in the region.

PC manufatcurer Dell’s shipments declined in the quarter compared to the year-ago period. “While Windows 8 has been blamed by some as the reason for the PC market’s decline, we believe this is unfounded as it does not explain the sustained decline in PC shipments, nor does it explain Apple’s market performance,” Kitagawa said.

PC shipments in the Europe, West Asia and Africa markets totalled 21.3 million units in the second quarter, a 16.8 per cent decline from the corresponding period last year. The challenging economic environment continues to mute general spending in the consumer markets. Shipments in Eastern Europe also remained low, as consumers are looking mainly for Android-based tablets. The second quarter is also typically a quiet quarter for business buyers in the region.