The predictions did not give a lot of his skin, and yet the PC market seems to be recovering.
The International Data Corporation (IDC) has indeed published a study indicating that PC sales are generally holding up compared to the results before the pandemic, despite some disparities.
Maintaining performance in the PC market
Last spring, the same organization predicted a slowdown in PC sales after two record years. At the start of 2022, the market recorded a 5.1% drop in terms of shipments worldwide compared to last year.
2021 was clearly a good year for this market, with 87.3 million units sold. Looking ahead to the third quarter of 2022, IDC says that figure has risen to 74.3 million. Apparently bad news, but these results ultimately prove to be higher than those recorded in 2017 and 2018, with “only” 67 million units sold over the counter.
The gross number of sales is of course not enough to see the big picture. With the pandemic followed an infamous shortage of components and a rise in prices. As such, the approximately 70 million units were sold this year at a higher price than in previous years.
Significant differences in results between brands
If the PC market is doing against all odds overall well, some industry players have necessarily benefited more than others. The big winner of the operation is none other than Apple, which sold more during this third quarter of 2022 than during the same period last year. The brand recorded double-digit growth, from 8.2% market share to 13.5%, and an impressive 40% increase in global shipments.
Lenovo remains in first place, with a market share of 22.7% this quarter, despite a 16% drop in units sold compared to last year. Despite its second place in the market, however, HP lost both market share and shipments, with a 30% drop in this category.
IDC does not, however, specify the results of brands like MSI, Gigabyte, Razer and other more “modest” manufacturers. If these have a certain influence on the PC market, their goodwill lies mainly in peripherals, the results of which have remained stable between 2021 and 2022.
Encouraging results for the PC market, in short. But recent developments such as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, inflation and the energy crisis should nevertheless impact, among other things, the PC market in the last quarter. Everyone will indeed have to tighten their belts and prioritize other purchases than that of a PC, because the coming winter promises to be terrible.
Source : IDC
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