Global PC shipments fall 8 % in third quarter of 2012

The worldwide shipments of personal computers totalled 87.5 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a decline of 8.3 per cent compared with the third quarter of 2011, according to preliminary results by Gartner..

Lenovo emerged as the highest selling manufacturer, displacing HP, in global PC shipments for the first time in the company's history. HP was the top PC vendor since the third quarter of 2006.

Lenovo took the No. 1 position in global PC shipments for the first time in the company's history, as its share increased to 15.7 per cent, while HP's global PC share was at 15.5 per cent. In addition to acquiring other vendors, Lenovo has also taken an aggressive position on pricing, especially in the professional market. As a result, Lenovo has achieved significant market share gains over the last two years, exceeding regional average growth rates across all regions.

"A continuing slowdown in consumer PC shipments played a big part in the overall PC market decline,'' said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "The third quarter was also a transitional quarter before Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system release, so shipments were less vigorous as vendors and their channel partners liquidated inventory.''

"Retailers were conservative in placing orders as they responded to weak back-to-school sales. By the end of September, retailers were focused on clearing out inventory in advance of the Windows 8 launch later this month. On the professional side, there was minimum impact from Windows 8 in the quarter because the professional market will not adopt Windows 8 PCs immediately after the release,'' Kitagawa said.

These numbers are preliminary, Gartner said.

HP has given up the top PC vendor position for the first time since the third quarter of 2006. HP is currently restructuring its device business, including PCs, tablets and printers. HP's main concern is achieving a good balance between market share gain and margin protection.

Dell was the number three vendor in PC shipments worldwide in the third quarter of 2012. While Dell suffered a steeper shipment decline than the worldwide average, it was less impacted by the upcoming release of Windows 8 because of its strong focus in the professional market. Dell continues to gradually transform itself from a PC or device supplier to a solution provider.

PC shipments in the US totalled 15.3 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a 13.8 per cent decline compared with the same period last year.

"The third quarter has historically been driven by back-to-school sales, but U.S. PC shipments did not increase, not even sequentially, from the second quarter of 2012. Channels were conservative in placing orders," Kitagawa said. "Professional PC shipments in the U.S. began slowing in the second quarter of this year, and they continued the trend in the third quarter. The results indicate that the replacement peak may have passed in the professional sector."

Four of the top five vendors in the US market experienced shipment declines. HP maintained the No 1 position in the US market despite a shipment decline of 19.3 per cent. Lenovo was the only vendor among the top 5 to increase shipments.

Shipments from Acer and Toshiba declined significantly due to the tough environment in the consumer market. Apple expected to have a PC shipment decline due to softness in the public market, but the company faced a slowdown in the consumer market.

From a regional perspective, PC shipments in EMEA totalled 25.8 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a decline of 8.7 per cent from the same quarter last year. After two quarters of positive growth in the first half of 2012, the EMEA market experienced its biggest decline in four years. The lack of appeal and innovation in PCs combined with a challenging economic environment diverted user spending elsewhere. Western Europe saw weak shipments across all countries, as retailers reduced Windows 7 inventory in anticipation of Windows 8 products.

In Asia-Pacific, PC shipments reached 31.3 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a 5.6 per cent decline from the third quarter of 2011. Weak demand was brought about as potential buyers chose to reign in or delay their purchases. China's slowing economy was more acutely felt in the region in the third quarter, creating an even more conservative approach to spending. Although there were government PC initiatives in India and China to drive PC sales, they failed to offset the general market weakness.

Preliminary results show PC shipments in Latin America surpassed 9.7 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a 6.2 per cent decline from the same period last year. Mobile PC shipments were flat, and desk-based PC shipments declined 14.3 per cent.

Thanks to Brazil's "Brasil Maior" tax incentives that were announced late in the quarter, Brazilian businesses and schools may postpone their IT purchasing. The tax incentives will begin in 2013, and this is when Gartner expects IT investments to drive PC shipments into the professional segment.

In Japan, PC shipments totalled 3.7 million units in the third quarter, a 5.4 per cent decline from the third quarter of 2011. The professional segment grew slightly higher than expected, but the market was impacted by the consumer segment. Most of the major vendors did not introduce new models of mainstream products in September due to the preparation for Windows 8.

Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q12 (Units)

Table 2 Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q12 (Units)