Worldwide PC shipments for Q4 in 2017 have dipped by 71.6 million units, a 2 per cent decline from the prior year according to Gartner.
For 2017 in total, PC shipments dropped 2.8 per cent compared to 2016 at 262.5 million units. This was the sixth year of PC shipments being in decline but Gartner analysts are optimistic for the future.
Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner says, “In the fourth quarter of 2017, there was PC shipment growth in Asia/Pacific, Japan and Latin America. There was only a moderate shipment decline in EMEA. However, the U.S. market saw a steep decline, which offset the generally positive results in other regions.
“The fourth quarter results confirmed again that PCs are no longer popular holiday gift items. This does not mean that PCs will disappear from households. Rather, the PC will become a more specialized, purpose-driven device. PC buyers will look for quality and functionality rather than looking for the lowest price, which will increase PC average selling prices (ASPs) and improve profitability in the long run. However, until this point is reached, the market will have to go through the shrinking phase caused by fewer PC users.”
HP jumped to into the top position in the fourth quarter of 2017, as its shipments grew 6.6 per cent, and its market share totalled 22.5 per cent. The company showed year-over-year growth in all regions, including the challenging U.S. market. For the fourth consecutive quarter, Lenovo experienced a decline in shipments. Lenovo had moderate growth in EMEA and Asia Pacific, but shipments declined in North America.
The Asia Pacific PC market had 25 million units in Q4 for 2017, an small increase of 0.6 per cent compared to 2016. Gartner says the consumer market stabilised with fourth-quarter online promotions in many countries which drove demand for gaming PCs, thin and light notebooks.
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q17 (Thousands of Units)
