The global PC market has been hit with price increases of around 10 percent throughout the year due to the sharp appreciation of the U.S. dollar against local currencies, according to Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa.
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In its preliminary results, Gartner has identified a strong USA dollar as a reason for a decline in PC shipments, with impacted regions including Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and Latin America.
Windows 10 was launched in the third quarter, but it had a minimal impact on shipments in the quarter. The operating system launched in Q3 and while it has received favourable reviews and piqued consumer interest in PCs, many users have opted to upgrade their existing PCs rather than purchase new hardware.
But while the Q3 results illustrated gloomy market conditions for the PC market, both Gartner and IDC are optimistic about the future.
Gartner’s 2015 personal technology survey said 50 percent of consumers intent to buy a PC in the next 12 months compared with 21 percent for tablet purchase intention.
Gartner said analysts “see a few signs for future stabilization and growth” in the PC market. “Soft recovery is expected to start in 4Q15, as Windows 10 product refreshes start to appear”. In fact none can save the PC market this year and beyond, which is already in severe trouble. Strong results in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) and a flat market in the USA helped to offset a relatively slow EMEA market.
HP maintained the second position in worldwide PC shipments. Dell did well in most regions, but it had a double-digit decline in shipments in Japan.
Overall in the US, both firms said, H-P held the top spot with about 28% of the market, followed by Dell, Apple and Lenovo. The currency devaluation continued to be a major contributor of stagnation in EMEA, as prices remained high.
Sales of PCs across the world declined sharply in the third quarter of 2015, as volatile exchange rates dampened demand, according to a report by consulting firm worldwide Data Corporation (IDC) released on Friday.
Asia/Pacific PC shipments reached 26.3 million units in the third quarter of 2015, a 1.7 percent decline from the third quarter of 2014. Nevertheless, currency fluctuations together with an ongoing economic and political turmoil in parts of the region continued to inhibit demand and constrained shipments. Basically, anyone selling PCs – Apple’s Mac line included – was having a harder time doing it over the past three months than in the same period a year earlier.
HP remained at number two with shipments declining minus 5.5 percent from a year ago, but still outperforming the market.
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The category includes desktop, laptop and notebook computers, but not devices in the booming mobile market. Collectively, the top 4 vendors saw shipments fall by -4.5% from a year ago compared to a decline of nearly -20% for the rest of the market.
