Gartner says global PC shipments declined 30% in 1Q23
High inventory and low demand led to a second consecutive quarter of historic year-over-year decline, says Gartner.
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 55.2 million units in the first quarter of 2023, a 30% decrease from the first quarter of 2022, according to preliminary results by Gartner. An unfavorable combination of oversupply and continued low PC demand due to economic uncertainties and a lack of purchase motivation led to the second consecutive quarter of historic year-over-year decline.
“PC pricing pressures intensified during the quarter as vendors offered considerable discounts to clear inventory,” said Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst at Gartner, in a press release. “To drive demand, vendors temporarily reduced average selling prices (ASPs) of PCs already in the channels, but ASPs of new PCs shipping into the channels remained elevated due to inflation-driven supply chain cost increases.”
Kitagawa continues to say that PC vendors essentially pursued a strategy to protect margins rather than to pursue market share by lowering prices. The analyst believes that ASPs will increase moderately in 2023 as vendors pass the cost increases for new PCs entering the channel to end users.
The top vendors in the worldwide PC market remained unchanged in the first quarter of 2023, with Lenovo maintaining the Number one spot in shipments with 23.3% market share.
| Company | 1Q23 Shipments | 1Q23 Market Share (%) | 1Q22 Shipments | 1Q22 Market Share (%) | 1Q23-1Q22 Growth (%) |
| Lenovo | 12,828 | 23.3 | 18,375 | 23.3 | -30.2 |
| HP Inc. | 12,019 | 21.8 | 15,866 | 20.1 | -24.2 |
| Dell | 9,541 | 17.3 | 13,804 | 17.5 | -30.9 |
| Apple | 4,819 | 8.7 | 7,324 | 9.3 | -34.2 |
| ASUS | 3,910 | 7.1 | 5,584 | 7.1 | -30.0 |
| Acer | 3,523 | 6.4 | 5,531 | 7.0 | -36.3 |
| Others | 8,514 | 15.4 | 12,268 | 15.6 | -30.6 |
| Total | 55,154 | 100.0 | 78,752 | 100.0 | -30.0 |
Notes: Data includes desktop and laptop PCs that are equipped with Windows, macOS and Chrome OS. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to the totals shown due to rounding. Source: Gartner (April 2023)
Lenovo recorded the steepest annual shipment decline in its corporate history over two quarters. While the U.S. was a particularly challenging market for Lenovo, the company had modest growth in Japan driven by end of fiscal year PC purchases.
This was the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit shipment decline for HP. HP shipments in EMEA dropped by 37% compared to a year ago but declined less steeply in the U.S. market.
Dell saw its fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline. Asia Pacific was its hardest-hit market, with shipments down by over 40%. Dell’s decline was largely driven by the weak business PC market.
“Business PC demand was slow overall this quarter, but the small and midsize business (SMB) market was especially weak due to economic uncertainties,” said Kitagawa. “IT has remained a top area for SMB spending as organizations recognize the importance of leveraging technology for growth, but PCs are often the first area to face budget cuts as the product life can be extended. In contrast, spending in other technology segments such as software and IT services is expected to grow in 2023.”
