Research agencies Gartner and IDC have revealed the global PC shipments and market share of top players such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, Apple, among others during the first quarter of 2017.
Both reports noted fall in global PC shipments.
The business segment of the PC market is strong. Price increase is likely to impact the consumer PC market.
Gartner said Lenovo is the PC market leader — ahead of HP Inc. IDC said HP has replaced Lenovo as the top PC supplier.
Gartner report on PC market
PC shipments fell 2.4 percent to 62.2 million units in the first quarter of 2017.
The business PC market has experienced modest growth. Consumers continued to refrain from replacing older PCs, and some consumers have abandoned the PC market altogether.
Vendors who do not have a strong presence in the business market will encounter major problems, and they will be forced to exit the PC market in the next five years. Lenovo, HP and Dell will battle for the large-enterprise segment.
Lenovo accounted for 19.9 percent of PC shipments, followed by HP with 19.5 percent share, and Dell at 15 percent share.
HP showed the strongest growth among the top six PC vendors, as its PC shipments increased 6.5 percent. HP’s shipments grew in all regions, and its PC shipments rose 15.9 percent in the U.S. market.
Dell has achieved four consecutive quarters of growth. Dell had PC shipment increases in all regions except the U.S. Dell enhanced its channel program and expanded its share in the large-enterprise market.
The PC industry is experiencing a price increase. Over two years ago, the price hike was attributed to the local currency deterioration against the U.S. dollar. This time around, the price hike is due to a component shortage.
DRAM prices have doubled since the middle of 2016, and SSD has been in short supply as well. The price hike will suppress PC demand even further in the consumer market, discouraging buyers away from PC purchases unless it is absolutely necessary.
IDC report on PC market
PC shipments dropped 0.6 percent to 60.3 million units in Q1 2017.
Tight supplies of key components such as NAND and DRAM are affecting inventory dynamics and led a number of vendors to boost shipments to lock in supply ahead of further cost increases.
The commercial market is beginning a replacement cycle that should drive growth. Consumer demand will remain under pressure, though growth in segments like PC Gaming as well as rising saturation of tablets and smartphones will move the consumer market toward stabilization as well.
HP regained its top position from Lenovo. HP Inc has focused on building out a deep portfolio and saw a strong quarter in notebooks across all regions.
Lenovo held the second position with 1.7 percent growth. Lenovo had its first decline in the U.S. since Q3 2009, down 4.2 percent.
Dell captured the third position, grew 6.2 percent, and continued its positive growth in every region with strong notebook volume. Dell posted growth in all markets, although the U.S. slowed relative to others.
Apple kept the fourth position and grew 4.1 percent.
Acer regained the fifth position, growing 2.9 percent in part due to better comparisons against a challenging Q1 2016.
Baburajan K
