Business PC growth slows as XP effect wears off

Volume sales of PCs in UK up 14.5 per cent in early Q4, says Context

Volume sales of business PCs in western Europe are beginning to slow as the XP effect comes to an end, according to new Context data.

For the first seven weeks of Q4, volume sales of PCs - desktops, notebooks and workstations - across western European distribution rose 16.9 per cent compared with the same period a year ago.

The double-digit growth came mainly from the consumer segment thanks to an early Christmas rush, the analyst said, but added that business-focused sales were up 6.9 per cent during the same period.

"Business growth has seen a slowdown over the past few months as the XP migration effect is lessening," the analyst said. "[But] unlike consumer growth however, the rise in business sales in early Q4 2014 again came on the back of a positive performance one year ago."

Microsoft ended support for Windows XP back in the spring, which prompted organisations to refresh their PC estate in the run-up to the deadline and in the months shortly after.

A 14.9 per cent spike in business notebook sales drove the overall boost in the segment, which was enough to offset a "small decline" in desktop sales.

In the UK, overall PC volume sales through distribution were up 14.5 per cent annually in early Q4.

The country's growth was dwarfed by that of Spain and France, whose figures were up 37.4 per cent and 20.4 per cent respectively.

Germany and Italy performed similarly to the UK - their sales were up 12.3 per cent and 13.2 per cent respectively, but Swiss sales slumped 3.2 per cent over the period.