The PC monitor market declined slightly in the fourth quarter of 2013, but Dell and HP both saw improvements to their market position, according to the latest IDC report.
34.9 million units were shipped during the three month period, a decrease of 0.4 per cent on the previous quarter and 3.8 per cent on the previous year.
However, the latter was blamed on a decline in overall PC desktop sales, and the quarterly decline was less than predicted.
Some winners, some losers
Despite the market not looking great, both Dell and HP saw significant improvements. Dell's market share grew from 12.7 per cent to 14.2 per cent, with 7.7 per cent growth in shipments. HP's market share grew from 10.8 per cent to 12.2 per cent, with 9.3 per cent shipment growth.
"Dell and HP both saw increases in unit shipments for the worldwide PC monitor market for the second time in a down year," said Jennifer Song, Research Analyst of Worldwide Trackers at IDC. "At a regional level, EMEA experienced the largest positive growth during the fourth quarter, with Italy and Spain posting the biggest gains."
The other top five vendors all saw shipment declines, however. Samsung was worst hit with a 23.3 percent fall. LG had a minor setback of 1.9 per cent. Lenovo's shipments dropped 15.1 per cent.
Going forward
IDC predicts a quarterly decline of 9 per cent in the first quarter of 2014, with shipments expected to fall to 31.7 million units.
It forecasts an overall 8.6 per cent decline over the course of the year, slightly less than previous predictions. It also expects shipments to drop to 104.8 million units by 2018, down from 125.6 million in 2014.
The continued adoption of mobile devices, driven by many new entry-level models, is blamed for the monitor decline.