14 DAY TRIAL // A new forecast published by IDC indicates that the PC market could go down no more, no less than 8.2 percent in 2022 versus the previous year, with sales to total approximately 321.2 million units.
Furthermore, IDC says, the tablet industry is also expected to decline, this time only 6.2 percent, to 158 million units.
However, even if both the PC and the tablet could go down, the yearly stats are still likely to be significantly higher than the pre-pandemic levels.
Still better than pre-pandemic sales
In other words, despite the drop, things are still far better than before 2020 when the entire industry has been reset and sales skyrocketed as a result of people moving to remote working.
“Despite the lower forecast for 2022, PC shipments are expected to remain well above pre-pandemic levels as upcoming device refreshes, robust commercial demand, and uptake within emerging markets continue to be drivers for the industry. And IDC expects shipments to return to positive annual growth in 2023 and beyond, although this year's decline will result in a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -0.6%. Meanwhile, tablets face a larger decline over the same period as competition from PCs as well as smartphones will continue to inhibit growth, leading to a -2.0% CAGR,” IDC says.
In addition to pandemic-related problems, the two industries are also likely to struggle with other issues caused by the war in Ukraine and the rising inflation.
“Our research continues to show strong demand and supply activity aimed at the commercial PC market, but the consumer and education markets are seeing increasing concerns and, as a result, reduced orders. The reduction in the most recent forecast was significant for many reasons, and the uncertainty remains high,” Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said.