PC shipments record sharpest annual decline on record
Global PC shipments have suffered their sharpest annual contraction on record with figures indicating the sector shrank by 10.1 per cent over the year – worse than the 9.7 per cent previously predicted.
The International Data Corporation has now recorded falling PC sales for six quarters in a row, another unwelcome record for the industry.
Jay Chou, a senior research analyst with IDC, said: “Perhaps the chief concern for future PC demand is a lack of reasons to replace an older system.”
Declines are expected to ameliorate somewhat in 2014 but there is no indication that any form of bounce-back is on the cards.
Consumer PC’s have been hit by a triple whammy owing to the rising popularity of tablets, smartphones and laptops but commercial sales have, thus far, held up rather better, falling by just 5 per cent over 2013 versus 15 per cent declines in the consumer arena.