- The shipments fell 27.8% YoY in Q4 2022; 15% YoY in full year
- Macroeconomic adversities, high inflationary pressure and unchanging PC demand are the prime factors being cited for this major decline
According to the latest research report from Counterpoint, global PC shipments witnessed a record-high year-on-year (YoY) drop in Q4 of 2022. The shipments declined by 27.8% to reach 65.2 million units in the quarter. The PC market, suffering from macroeconomic headwinds, increasing inflation pressure and frozen demand last year, dropped by 15% YoY in 2022.
The research observed that although inventory levels of several OEMs and ODMs likely peaked in Q3 2022, the year-end season failed to accelerate the PC shipment momentum in Q4. Counterpoint said that at 286 million units, the total PC shipments for 2022 also reflect a muted global PC demand with four consecutive quarters of YoY shipment declines. Going by the reported trends, a decent rebound might be too much to ask for before the second half of this year.
Counterpoint stated that despite short-term headwinds, global PC shipment volumes may reach higher levels than pre-COVID times in the coming years, thanks to the continuous work environment and lifestyle changes and delayed procurement from both consumer and commercial sectors after H1 2023. Moreover, consumer demand will likely see a gradual rebound in H2 2023 followed by a slower warm-up in enterprise procurement. It said that soft demand in H1 will cause heavy pressure on global PC shipments. Consequently, barely any annual shipment growth is expected in 2023.
The report pointed out that players are slow with bringing out newer models while working more carefully on their budgets. It said that the lack of appealing functions and financial support could not bring in incremental demand in 2022, not to mention the aggressive inventory digestion target of OEMs since H1 2022.
Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry.
