High Inventory and Low Demand Led to Second Consecutive Quarter of Historic Year-Over-Year Decline.
According to the preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. worldwide PC shipments totaled 55.2 million units in the first quarter of 2023, which is a 30% decrease from the first quarter of last year. An unfavorable combination of oversupply and continued low PC demand due to economic uncertainties and a lack of purchase motivation led to the second consecutive quarter of historic year-over-year decline.
“PC pricing pressures intensified during the quarter as vendors offered considerable discounts to clear inventory. To drive demand, vendors temporarily reduced average selling prices (ASPs) of PCs already in the channels, but ASPs of new PCs shipping into the channels remained elevated due to inflation-driven supply chain cost increases,” said Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst, Gartner.
“Essentially, PC vendors pursued a strategy to protect margins rather than to pursue market share by lowering prices. ASPs will increase moderately in 2023 as vendors pass the cost increases for new PCs entering the channel to end users,” added Kitagawa. Dell saw its fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline. Asia Pacific was its hardest-hit market, with shipments down by over 40%. Dell’s decline was largely driven by the weak business PC market.
The EMEA PC market experienced a significant decline of 35.9% compared with a year ago, with shipment volumes for the whole region falling below the total U.S. shipment volume.
“The continued impact of political unrest, inflationary pressures, interest rate increases and a pending recession has culminated in another massive decline in the EMEA PC market. None of the top six vendors were immune from the collapse, all losing more than a third of their shipment volumes year-over-year,” said Kitagawa.
“Business PC demand was slow overall this quarter, but the small and midsize business (SMB) market was especially weak due to economic uncertainties. IT has remained a top area for SMB spending as organizations recognize the importance of leveraging technology for growth, but PCs are often the first area to face budget cuts as the product life can be extended. In contrast, spending in other technology segments such as software and IT services is expected to grow in 2023,” said Kitagawa.
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe.
