Computer sales around the world are (again) collapsing. And the prices are going up again
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The data is unequivocal: shipments of personal computers (Windows, macOS and Chrome OS platforms) on a global basis fell to 55.2 million units in the first quarter of 2023, marking a 30% decrease compared to the same period of 2023. last year. The worst data concerns the Asia Pacific area, which loses 40% in volumes with China highlighting the greatest difficulties, but also the US market (down by 25.8%) and the EMEA one (by 35.9%) they are paying dues to the sharp contraction in consumer and business spending and the continuing impact of political turmoil, inflationary pressures, interest rate hikes. This is confirmed by the preliminary results published yesterday by Gartner, which attributes the causes of another “quarter” of historical decline for this market to the high inventory and to a demand that remains tepid. The boom in purchases in the months of the first and second lockdown, between 2020 and 2021, are now a distant memory and all manufacturers and the entire supply chain in the PC world are grappling with an unfavorable combination of excess supply ( dictated by warehouses still full) and economic uncertainties which are effectively discouraging consumers and companies from making new purchases.
The price question
“Price pressure on personal computers intensified during the quarter as manufacturers offered sizable discounts to free up product inventories already in channels, but average selling prices of new models arriving in distribution networks remain high due to higher supply chain costs driven by inflation”. The analysis by Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst at Gartner, therefore does not leave much hope for those who think of taking advantage of the moment to do good business. The price reduction was only temporary and the strategy that all players have in common is to favor the protection of margins over market shares. ” In 2023 – added Kitagawa – average selling prices will increase moderately, as sellers will pass on the increases of new products that will arrive on the channel to end users”.
Lenovo still commands, but the sales drop is 30%
Looking at the ranking of the main PC market suppliers, two indicators immediately catch the eye: there are no changes in the ranking, with Lenovo maintaining its first place at the end of the quarter with a share of 23.3%, and all the brands occupying the top 5 show a drop of more than 30% with the exception of HP, whose year-on-year drop in sales stops at 24%. The Chinese company, which has been the leader of the PC market for years, has to file the most conspicuous annual decline in its history, which is explained by the great difficulties recorded particularly in the United States. Although for HP the slowdown on a worldwide basis is less consistent than the competition, for the Californian company it is the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit decline in shipments, driven downwards by the 37% reduction in sales recorded compared to a year ago in Europe and the Middle East. On the other hand, another big American, Dell, pays for the weakness in demand for company PCs, confirming that for small and medium-sized enterprises, economic uncertainties are making themselves felt in the economy of spending budgets destined for IT, which nonetheless remains a voice important (in the area of software and services) to support digitization processes. PCs, as explained by Gartner, are on the other hand the first area to suffer cuts due to the greater extension of product life.
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