Gartner and IDC in Agreement over Slow PC Sales in Third Quarter

Gartner and IDC both published their findings for the third quarter of 2010, finding that are more or less in agreement, even if the numbers they tallied aren't precisely the same.

Lenovo is enjoying the results of its hard work now that it has snatched second place as worldwide PC maker from Dell.

As it happens, not just IDC, but also Gartner published their results concerning the PC market during the July-September period.

Their estimates are slightly different, but mostly on the same wavelength.

Basically, PC sales grew quite slowly, compared to Q3 2010, during the third quarter of 2011, by 3.6% according to IDC and only 3.2% according to Gartner.

Lower consumer income is considered the main cause behind the market's failure to meet even the modest expectations placed in August (a 4.5% growth had been predicted by IDC).

"Most vendors continue to struggle with the slow market environment and product changes," said Loren Loverde, IDC vice president of Worldwide Consumer Device Trackers.

"Although we don't see media tablets and other devices replacing PCs, questions on how products will evolve, and consumer interest in these and other categories are providing a distraction. And while price remains critical, many users are delaying PC purchases for the moment. Still, there are opportunities, as demonstrated by Lenovo's gains, and we expect PCs to find stronger demand in the coming years."

Dell was able to keep its second spot as PC supplier in the US, but Lenovo proved better everywhere else, snatching the spot worldwide. Acer is number 4 now, followed by ASUS.

"The inventory buildup, which slowed growth the last four quarters, mostly cleared out during the third quarter of this year; however, the PC industry has been performing below normal seasonality," stated Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.

"As expected, back-to-school PC sales were disappointing in mature markets, confirming that the consumer PC market continues to be weak. The popularity of non-PC devices, including media tablets, such as the iPad and smartphones, took consumers' spending away from PCs. "