Q1 PC shipments slump to six-year low - IDC

Currency fluctuations and fading 'XP effect' to blame for falling annual shipments

Global shipments of PCs have slumped to the lowest levels since the start of 2009, according to IDC, which along with fellow analyst Gartner said the PC market struggled in Q1.

According to IDC, global PC shipments in Q1 fell 6.7 per cent annually to 68.5 million units, the lowest recorded volume since the first quarter of 2009. Gartner claims shipments fell 5.2 per cent over the same period to 71.7 million.

In 2014, the PC market enjoyed a boost as businesses and consumers dumped their Windows XP machines for newer devices, prompting a jump in sales. But the so-called "XP effect" has faded now, IDC said, which along with global economics, was bad news for the market at the start of 2015.

"Following a strong second half of 2014, which benefitted from the tailwind of the Windows XP refresh and pockets of price-driven consumer activity, the Q1 market faced multiple headwinds – including inventory build-up of Windows Bing-based notebooks, commercial slowdown following the XP refresh and constrained demand in many regions due to currency fluctuations and unfavourable economic indicators," the analyst said.

"As a result, growth and volume declined with Q1 shipments below 69 million units, the lowest recorded volume since Q1 2009."

Gartner was slightly more optimistic than IDC and pointed to the mobile PC segment as a star performer.

Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, said: "[The] decline is not necessarily a sign of sluggish overall PC sales long term. Mobile PCs, including notebooks, hybrid and Windows tablets, grew compared with a year ago. The first-quarter results support our projection of a moderate decline of PC shipments in 2015, which will lead to a slow, consistent growth stage for the next five years."

Gartner added that the EMEA PC market also slumped in Q1 – shipments fell 4.4 per cent to 21.7 million units – but again added that mobile devices could signal light at the end of the tunnel.

"A bright spot for the market was the strong shipment volume of hybrid notebooks, which led the growth of consumer mobile PCs," the analyst said.

"Desktop PC shipments declined rapidly. Overall, the eurozone currency devaluation against the dollar had a limited impact in the first quarter, but increased prices are expected in the second quarter."