PC Shipments Expected to Drop This Year, China to Blame

According to the latest IDC report on PC shipments figures for Q1 of 2013 (January to end of March) are reportedly looking a bit grim. The big problem for the world as a whole is that we are still seeing suppressed demand for PCs which already started with the financial crisis in 2008, the recovery is much slower than expected and with the increasing rise of high performance Tablets and Smartphones some are unsure as to whether shipments will ever fully recover.

The particularly bad figures for Q1 of this year are reportedly due to the economic “slowdown” in China, where growth rates have fallen from 9-10% in late 2011 and early 2012 to around 7% in late 2012 and early 2013. With China demanding less PCs and the West becoming increasingly fixated on Tablets and Smartphones, being a PC vendor is certainly an undesirable position to be in to say the least.

In 2012 China accounted for 21% of global PC shipments, making it by far the World’s largest market for PCs. IDC analysts say we will see a close to double digit (8-10%) decline in PC shipments for Q1 of 2013 followed by a 5%~ decline in Q2 of 2013. Only in Q3 and Q4 might we actually see some growth/recovery but the uncertainty of making future predictions mean that this isn’t guaranteed either.

IDC says that the PC industry needs to innovate with attractive new PC designs and it needs to offer more competitive pricing to convince users to opt for a PC instead of a tablet.

What do you think of the current PC market trends? Are PCs becoming obsolete? Are tablets better? Have you bought a PC recently? Let us know what you think.

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