Worldwide PC shipments totalled
51.6 million units in the first quarter of 2020, a 12.3 per cent decline from the same period of last year, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.
After three consecutive quarters of growth, the worldwide PC market experienced its sharpest decline since 2013 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the research and advisory firm said.
The single most significant influencing factor for PC shipment decline was the coronavirus outbreak, which resulted in disruptions to both the supply and demand of PCs, said Mikako Kitagawa, research director at Gartner.
Following the first lockdown in China in late January, there was lower PC production volume in February that turned into logistics challenges.
This quarter's vendor results underscore the growing economic uncertainties that are tightening PC spending, especially among small and midsize businesses.
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This uncertainty, coupled with the end of the Windows 10 upgrade peak, is causing enterprises to shift their IT budgets away from PCs and toward strategic business continuity planning , she was quoted as saying in a Gartner statement.
Despite the impact of COVID-19, the top three vendors market share remained unchanged from the previous quarter.
They accounted for 65.6 per cent of PC shipments in the first quarter of 2020, up from just over 60 per cent in the first quarter of 2019.
Although Lenovo maintained its number one position in the worldwide PC market, its shipments declined 3.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 and 22.6 per cent year over year in Asia Pacific.
HP Inc.had a challenging first quarter, with a 12.1 per cent decline in PC shipments after three consecutive quarters of shipment growth.
HP recorded double digit shipment declines in all key regions, taking the hardest hit in desk-based PCs in Asia Pacific and Japan.
Dell was the only top vendor that showed year over year shipment growth (rising 2.
2 per cent) despite the impact from COVID-19.
Dell s shipments grew in all regions in the first quarter of 2020, except in Asia Pacific.
Growth was particularly strong in the Americas where Dell experienced relatively stable business PC demand until March.
The first quarter of 2020 was the company s ninth consecutive quarter of shipment growth.
Asia Pacific showed the worst year over year decline of 27.1 per cent since Gartner started tracking the PC market.
With COVID-19 originating in China, the country was the largest contributor to this decline as all business, government and consumer activities came to a halt in February.
Overall PC shipments in China dropped by over 30 per cent compared to a year ago.
Desk-based PCs, the primary commercial PC type for the government and education organisations, experienced the biggest drop of nearly 40 per cent.
Mobile PCs declined less (20 per cent) as notebook demands were driven by remote employees and e-learning students, the statement added.
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