Global PC shipments end eight-quarter decline: Gartner

The global shipments of personal computers recorded a flat growth with a total of 75.8 million units in the second quarter of the calendar year, putting an end to eight straight quarters of decline.

The shipment during the quarter ended June 30 was just a 0.1 per cent rise from the same quarter a year ago, according to a study by research and analyst firm Gartner.

''While the worldwide PC market stopped two years of declining shipments in the second quarter, there were mixed results, as stabilisation in developed markets was offset by a decline in emerging markets,'' said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.

''The PC industry in emerging markets has been impacted by the allure of low-cost tablets. These low-cost tablets continue to take spending from new PC units, meaning that it will take more time for PC sales to stabilise in emerging markets.''

''The PC market's installed based has been declining as buyers switched to tablets and smartphones for entertainment and social media consumption. The second quarter results suggest that the consumer installed base restructuring peaked during 2013. We are seeing a slowdown in premium tablet sales, which have already penetrated a large number of households.

PCs are now growing off a smaller installed base of newer devices, with more engaged users. Therefore, we expect to see slow, but consistent, PC growth. While the end of support for Windows XP drove some of the sales in developed markets, it is the underlying business replacement cycle that will stabilise the market,'' she added.

Lenovo extended its lead as the leader in worldwide PC shipments, with the company increasing its worldwide market share to 19.2 per cent. Lenovo's PC shipments grew by double-digits in all regions except Asia-Pacific. Lenovo's shipment growth in Asia-Pacific was still faster than the regional average.

HP achieved its fastest global PC shipment increase in the last four years (since 2Q10). The company has put a lot of effort into restoring its PC business, including the review of the product family and stock keeping units, as well as revitalising the channel partner programme.

The second quarter of 2014 was the second consecutive quarter of double-digital growth for Dell's global PC shipments. Dell benefited from strong business PC demand. The company also did particularly well in Asia-Pacific. Dell's shipments grew in all regions, except Latin America, but Dell's shipment decline was less than the regional average.

Preliminary worldwide PC vendor unit shipment estimates for 2Q14 (Units)

The Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) PC market reached 22.5 million units in the second quarter of 2014, an 8.6 per cent rise from the same period last year. Sales were driven by a PC refresh in the professional market from Windows XP, but also from a general uptick in professional spending, mainly in Western European countries, as the economic environment becomes more favourable.

The expectation is that the current XP refresh is from large enterprises, but many small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) will continue with an XP refresh through the second half of 2014, boosting the overall market.

In Asia-Pacific, PC shipments totalled 24.6 million units in the second quarter of 2014, a 9.5 per cent decrease from the second quarter of 2013. Despite the decline in shipments, there are some signs of stabilisation, with minimal declines and flat growth in mature Asia-Pacific countries and China.

However, the low end of the notebook PC market continues to be challenged by the popularity of phablets and voice-connected tablets, especially in smaller cities where some lower income groups prefer a larger screen phone as their only device for communication and access to the Internet.

In the US market, PC shipments totalled 15.9 million units in the second quarter of 2014, a 7.4 percent increase from the second quarter of last year. This was the second consecutive quarter of year-on-year shipment growth. Both desktop and notebook PCs exhibited an increase in shipments.

''The consumer PC market also started picking up in the U.S. The availability of affordable, thin and light notebooks have drawn consumers' attention,'' Kitagawa said. ''Touch enable devices are also widely available with decreasing price premiums compared to a year ago. The price premium is low enough for mainstream consumers to spend the extra money for the additional functionalities, such as touch.''

Four of the top five vendors in the U.S. market experienced double-digit growth. HP was the market leader, accounting for 27.7 percent of PC shipments.

Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q14 (Units)