Although some data suggests a stagnant global PC market, research from analyst firm IDC indicates an ongoing decline of dramatic proportions.
PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) declined 21.6% during the second quarter of 2015, compared with the same quarter last year. This is just 17.2 million units, comprising both laptops and desktops.
Neither type of device was immune to the shipment decline. Laptop shipments slipped to 18.5%, while desktop shipments declined 26.4%. HP, Lenovo and Dell were the market leaders in EMEA, with 3.9, 3.3 and 2 million shipments, respectively, although all three manufacturers saw double-digit declines in shipment percentage points.
The overall market
Despite these pessimistic figures, IDC doesn't expect the global PC market to contract as dramatically in 2015 as it has during only the second quarter.
Worldwide PC shipments are expected to decrease only 4.9% in 2015, with total 2015 volume expected to eclipse 293.1 million PCs. By 2019, IDC expects the market to further contract to 291.4 million units.
Smaller and lighter
One manufacturer's loss is another manufacturer's gain. As the PC market contracts, IDC expects tablet and smartphone shipments to continue to increase. In 2014, shipments of smartphones and tablets increased 27.7% and 4.5%, respectively.
The tablet shipments total includes 2-in-1 devices, which should trigger at least some encouragement for the top PC manufacturers, all of which produce stellar hybrid laptop-tablets.
