PC Shipments Post the Steepest Decline Ever in a Single Quarter
April 11th, 2013Via: IDC:
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 76.3 million units in the first quarter of 2013 (1Q13), down -13.9% compared to the same quarter in 2012 and worse than the forecast decline of -7.7%, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. The extent of the year-on-year contraction marked the worst quarter since IDC began tracking the PC market quarterly in 1994. The results also marked the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year shipment declines.
Despite some mild improvement in the economic environment and some new PC models offering Windows 8, PC shipments were down significantly across all regions compared to a year ago. Fading Mini Notebook shipments have taken a big chunk out of the low-end market while tablets and smartphones continue to divert consumer spending. PC industry efforts to offer touch capabilities and ultraslim systems have been hampered by traditional barriers of price and component supply, as well as a weak reception for Windows 8. The PC industry is struggling to identify innovations that differentiate PCs from other products and inspire consumers to buy, and instead is meeting significant resistance to changes perceived as cumbersome or costly.
This is kind of like saying that Blackberry sales are down compared to iPhones. Sure, PC sales are down compared to smartphones and tablets.
Computer sales are booming. I just spent $5 for a scientific calculator that’s probably as powerful as my PC was 20 years ago. My ‘GPS tracking device’ doubles as a phone, but is still a computer; The dishwasher has a computer in it; my portable battery pack has a computer in it.
I don’t think I know anyone under 30 who uses a PC, but they are far more connected, and have far more computers than myself. Other than IT, accounting and operations, what most people use computers for in the workplace doesn’t require a PC. They can check Facebook on their smartphone. This is in the US. The trend is even more pronounced in countries like India, where you may have a smartphone even though you don’t have electricity at home. Most of those people probably see a PC the same way I think about a mainframe today. Like it or not, this isn’t so much a sign of collapse as it is a revolution in technology and social control.