Global PC shipments racked up 58.5 million units during the first quarter of 2019, a 4.6 year-over-year drop, according to the Gartner research group. Even though PC sales looked promising in 2018, with a rebound in shipments, but the rejuvenated growth apparently suffered due to soft consumer demand plus CPU and other hardware constraints, the analyst firm added.
Lenovo (20.1%), HP (20.7%), and Dell (16.0) control the market ahead of Apple (6.6%), ASUS (6.3%), Acer (6.2%), and other manufacturers. Business PC purchases continued to receive assistance by the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, but 2019 will be the final year of a three-year boost that is going to end this year.
“While the consumer market remained weak, the mix of product availability may have also hindered demand. In contrast, Chromebook shipments increased by double digits compared with the first quarter of 2018, despite the shortage of entry-level CPUs. Including Chromebook shipments, the total worldwide PC market decline would have been 3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019.”
Mikako Kitagawa, senior principal analyst at Gartner
Overall, the PC market is predicted to endure a 0.6% year-over-year drop, leaving manufacturers scrambling to drive interest among consumers and businesses alike. That’s going to be easier said than done – but for shoppers searching for new PCs, there is no shortage in cost-effective models available for purchase.
