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​PC shipments slump to 2007 levels

​PC shipments slump to 2007 levels

All major regions worldwide showed year-on-year shipment declines

Worldwide PC shipments dropped 9.6 per cent in the first three months of 2016 on the corresponding quarter last year. This was the sixth consecutive quarter of sales decline and the first time since 2007 that shipments have fallen below 65 million units.

According to Gartner, 64.8 million units were shipped in the first quarter of 2016, and all major regions around the world showed year-on-year shipment declines.

PCs are not being adopted in new households as they were in the past, particularly in emerging markets where smartphones are the priority. The PC life cycle is lengthening as many consumers wait until their PC breaks down before purchasing a new one, Gartner said.

In the corporate market, a Windows 10 PC refresh cycle is expected to start towards the end of 2016, according to the analyst firm.

The deterioration of local currencies against the US dollar continued to play a major role in PC shipment declines, said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.

“Our early results also show there was an inventory build-up from holiday sales in the fourth quarter of 2015. The ongoing decline in US shipments showed that the installed base is still shrinking, a factor that played across developed economies,” he said.

Lenovo grabbed the number one spot worldwide, shipping 12.484 million PCs during the period and capturing a 19.3 per cent share.

HP was second, recording sales of 11.408 million units during the period, giving it a 17.6 per cent share. Dell was third with 9.145 million units, followed by Asus (5.365 million), and Apple (4.611 million).

Overall Asia-Pacific PC shipments reached 23.3 million units during the quarter, a 5.1 per cent on the first quarter of 2015.

The ongoing fragile Chinese economy and weak global demand continued to dampen consumer sentiment across the Asia-Pacific region, Gartner said.

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