PC shipments drop 6.7% in Q1; Lenovo continues to lead

Worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 6.7 per cent in the first quarter compared to a year ago, according to data released by market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

The shipments which totaled 68.5 million units in the quarter were the lowest on record since Q1 2009, the height of the global financial crisis. However, that was above market expectations despite weak currencies and product transitions.

''Market faced multiple headwinds – including inventory build-up of Windows Bing based notebooks, commercial slow down following the Windows XP refresh and constrained demand in many regions due to currency fluctuations and unfavorable economic indicators,'' IDC said in its release.

In contrast, the second half of 2014 had seen solid growth on the back of XP refresh and price advantages.

Despite some complaints on its bundled software in February, Lenovo remained the global market leader in the pack with 13.4 million units, with a 2-per cent increase in its market share at 19.6-per cent and a growth of 3.4 per cent. HP was closely behind with a shipment of 13 million, also boosting its market share by over 2 per cent to 19 per cent.

Dell and Acer were in third and fourth positions with shipments of 9.2 million and over 4.8 million units respectively. Both the companies registered a 6-7 per cent slump in their shipments compared to last year.

Asus, closely behind Acer, shipped 4.8 million PCs and has increased its market share to 7 per cent from 6.3 per cent.

Regardless of the overall decline, PC shipment in the US dropped at a slower rate than all other regions in the first quarter mainly due to the strength from key vendors, new products, and overall improvements in the US consumer market.

In the US HP was the market leader with a 25.4 per cent market share followed by Lenovo with around 11.8 per cent.

''The upcoming launch of Windows 10 and the free upgrade for consumers for a year after the release, Windows 10 should be a net positive as there is pent-up demand for replacements of older PCs. Only part of the installed base needs to replace systems to keep the overall growth rate above zero for rest of the year." Rajani Singh, senior research analyst of IDC said.

Looking ahead, IDC says PC shipments will remain "heavily dependent on pricing," noting that the pressure on price is bringing premium systems down to mid-level pricing tiers and as such, additional consolidation is expected in the PC market.