Year of the snake bites PC market in Q1 slowdown

Chinese softness blamed as IDC revises first-quarter forecast downwards

The embattled global PC market is set for a double-digit slump in 2013's opening quarter, according to IDC, which has revised its projections downwards.

The unanticipated slowdown is largely due to softness in the Chinese market which, with more than 21 per cent of global shipments, is now the world's largest client computing market. Factors contributing to the sales logjam include the timing of the Chinese new year, governmental budget cuts and anti-corruption measures, according to the market watcher.

IDC predicts that sales for this month will show an uptick, but this will not be sufficient to offset the market's poor performance in February. The EMEA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions have reportedly posted "close-to-forecast" sales in Q1.

The global market was previously projected to post a 7.7 per cent decline in Q1, but Loren Loverde, IDC's programme vice president for worldwide PC trackers, claimed the Chinese slowdown could add another couple of points to this figure.

"Our February monthly data suggests that we could see a drop touching double digits in the first quarter and a mid-single-digit decline in the second quarter before we see any recovery in the second half of the year," he said. "Even getting to positive growth in the second half of 2013 will take some attractive new PC designs and more competitive pricing relative to tablets and other products."