The PC market keeps looking worse-- according to IDC global Q1 2013 PC shipments drop by -13.9% Y-o-Y to 76.3 million units, the worst quarter since IDC started tracking shipments in 1994.
The shipment decline is (obviously!) much worse than the -7.7% Y-o-Y decline previously forecast by IDC. EMEA declines are also worse than than analyst anticipated, reaching the "strong" double-digits within both consumer and commercial markets.
"At this point it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only failed to provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market," IDC remarks. "The costs associated with touch have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices. Microsoft will have to make some very tough decisions moving forward if it wants to help reinvigorate the PC market."
In other words, Windows 8 effectively turned the PC market into something akin to a Zeppelin crashing towards the earth in slow motion while consumers stick to tablets and smartphones...
None of the top 5 vendors post growth during Q1 2013-- HP remains on top, if with a -23% Y-o-Y shipment decline, Lenovo follows with overall flat Y-o-Y growth, and 3rd placing Dell sees global shipments drop by over -10% Y-o-Y as it faces a tough restructuring and customer uncertainty.
Meanwhile Gartner also fails to produce good PC-related news-- instead reporting Q1 2013 EMEA shipments are down by -16% Y-o-Y, the worst decline since it started keeping records.
"[The EMEA PC market] suffered from a fundamental shift in the role of PCs in the consumer market,” Gartner comments. “Consumers' content consumption was-- and still is-- moving from PCs to other types of connected devices. Even in C. and E. Europe and MEA, where PC penetration is low, growth in PC shipments was down as first-time device buyers chose other devices."
On a global perspective, Gartner divides consumer and professional segments, with the professional PC segment accounting for around 50% of overall shipments with continuing refreshes to Windows 7 driving growth.
However, like IDC, Gartner paints a challenging pictures for vendors-- Only Lenovo records flat (0.1%) growth in a global market where Q1 2013 shipments are down by -11.2% Y-o-Y.
