PC market suffers Q2 mini-crash

But Gartner and IDC disagree onver whether it was Dell or Lenovo who avoided worst of the carnage

Gartner and IDC were split on whether it was Dell or Lenovo who best weathered a mini-crash in the PC market in Q2.

Gartner said PC shipments plunged by 9.5 per cent year on year to 68.4 million in the three months to 30 June, the steepest decline for almost two years, with IDC recording an 11.8 per cent drop to 66.1 million units.

Both analysts blamed the fall on a trio of factors, namely a strong comparable quarter last year due to the 'XP effect', rising PC prices caused by the strong dollar and inventory clearing among vendors and channels ahead of the release of Windows 10.

According to Gartner, Dell - which has been making bullish noises about its PC business of late - emerged from the tough quarter in the most credit, with unit shipments falling 4.9 per cent. This compares with a 6.8 per cent drop at market leader Lenovo and 9.5 per cent fall at second-placed HP.

Gartner noted that Dell's PC shipment fall was "relatively moderate" in EMEA compared with Lenovo and HP, possibly due partly to its lower presence in the consumer space, which meant it was shielded from the worst of the Windows 10 prelaunch inventory control.

It was a slightly different story over at IDC, which said top dog Lenovo performed best out of the top five vendors, despite shipments dropping 7.5 per cent.

IDC's data showed HP's shipments tumbling 10.4 per cent in the quarter, with Dell witnessing an 8.7 per cent drop.

Gartner emphasised that the inhibitors to growth in Q2 were "temporary events" that haven't changed the PC market's structure, meaning the market is set to return to "slow and steady growth" in 2016.

Loren Loverde, vice president, worldwide PC Trackers & Forecasting at IDC, agreed, saying the Q2 decline - while being higher than IDC expected - "fitted with expectations".

"We continue to expect low to mid-single digit declines in volume during the second half of the year with volume stabilising in future years," she said.

"We're expecting the Windows 10 launch to go relatively well, though many users will opt for a free OS upgrade rather than buying a new PC. Competition from 2-in-1 devices and phones remains an issue, but the economic environment has had a larger impact lately, and that should stabilise or improve going forward."