14 DAY TRIAL // The demand for new computers is declining these days, and data provided by Canalys for the third quarter of this year reveals that the same trend took place in the United States as well.
More specifically, U.S. shipments of new PCs, including here desktops, notebooks, and workstations, went down by no less than 12 percent. Notebooks were the ones taking the biggest hit, as their sales dropped by 14 percent.
The data, which is compared to the same quarter a year ago, shows that the PC market is struggling not only with saturation, which pretty much makes sense after the massive growth recorded in 2020 and 2021, but also with inflation.
Apple scoring massive growth
“The US PC market was already in an extended period of contraction as both consumer and education demand struggled with inflation and saturation,” said Brian Lynch, Canalys Research Analyst.
“Now, the previously resilient commercial segment has started to wane, posting its first year-on-year decline in 2022. The ISM Services and Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Indexes have both steadily declined since late 2021 and are now at their lowest levels since the onset of the pandemic. Inflationary pressure, interest rate hikes and cost-cutting measures are beginning to squeeze spending by IT managers. While overall employment remains strong, the onset of layoffs in the tech and finance industries is an early sign that business spending on PCs may become even more cautious in the first half of 2023. Nevertheless, the fundamental importance of PCs in supporting trends such as hybrid work and digital transformation means the long-term outlook remains positive. Device lifespans will be extended in the short term as firms navigate the current economic uncertainty.”
Out of all companies, Apple was the only one that impressed during the quarter, as its sales went up 26.5 percent. Leader Dell, on the other hand, declined 16.9 percent, while HP sales dropped 23.2 percent.