Gartner Says Declining Worldwide PC Shipments in Fourth Quarter of 2012 Signal Structural Shift of PC Market
Global PC Shipments Declined 4.9 Percent in Fourth Quarter While
EMEA PC Shipments Declined 9.6 Percent
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 90.3 million units in the fourth quarter
of 2012, a 4.9 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2011,
according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. Analysts said the PC
industry’s problems point to something beyond a weak economy.
“Tablets have dramatically changed the device landscape for PCs, not so
much by ‘cannibalizing’ PC sales, but by causing PC users to shift
consumption to tablets rather than replacing older PCs,” said Mikako
Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “Whereas as once we imagined a
world in which individual users would have both a PC and a tablet as
personal devices, we increasingly suspect that most individuals will
shift consumption activity to a personal tablet, and perform creative
and administrative tasks on a shared PC. There will be some individuals
who retain both, but we believe they will be exception and not the norm.
Therefore, we hypothesize that buyers will not replace secondary PCs in
the household, instead allowing them to age out and shifting consumption
to a tablet.”
“This transformation was triggered by the availability of compelling
low-cost tablets in 2012, and will continue until the installed base of
PCs declines to accommodate tablets as the primary consumption device,”
Ms. Kitagawa said. “On the positive side for vendors, the
disenfranchised PCs are those with lighter configurations, which mean
that we should see an increase in PC average selling prices (ASPs) as
users replace machines used for richer applications, rather than for
consumption.”
During the holiday season, consumers no longer viewed PCs as the number
one gift item. Given a burgeoning variety of increasingly more
attractive devices and services, consumers directed their attention
elsewhere. Analysts said there was uptake of very low priced notebooks
as a part of mega holiday deals, but this uptake did little to boost
holiday PC sales.
The launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 did not have a significant impact on
PC shipments in the fourth quarter. Analysts said some PC vendors
offered somewhat lackluster form factors in their Windows 8 offerings
and missed the excitement of touch. New products are coming to market,
and this could drive churn within the installed base.
HP regained the top position in worldwide PC shipments in the fourth
quarter of 2012 (see Table 1), however the company’s shipments did not
grow compared to a year ago. Analysts said HP most likely gave up a
certain margin level to gain market shares. HP was successful in
managing large retail deals targeting Microsoft’s Windows 8 launch and
holiday sales in selected regions.
Table 1
|
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for
4Q12 (Units)
|
Company
|
|
4Q12 Shipments
|
|
4Q12 Market Share (%)
|
|
4Q11 Shipments
|
|
4Q11 Market Share (%)
|
|
4Q12-4Q11 Growth (%)
|
HP
|
|
14,645,041
|
|
16.2
|
|
14,711,280
|
|
15.5
|
|
-0.5
|
Lenovo
|
|
13,976,668
|
|
15.5
|
|
12,915,766
|
|
13.6
|
|
8.2
|
Dell
|
|
9,206,391
|
|
10.2
|
|
11,633,387
|
|
12.2
|
|
-20.9
|
Acer Group
|
|
8,622,701
|
|
9.5
|
|
9,690,624
|
|
10.2
|
|
-11.0
|
ASUS
|
|
6,528,228
|
|
7.2
|
|
6,133,042
|
|
6.5
|
|
6.4
|
Others
|
|
37,393,913
|
|
41.4
|
|
39,934,184
|
|
42.0
|
|
-6.4
|
Total
|
|
90,372,942
|
|
100.0
|
|
95,018,284
|
|
100.0
|
|
-4.9
|
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs, including
mini-notebooks but not media tablets such as the iPad. Data
is based on the shipments selling into channels.
|
Source: Gartner (January 2013)
|
|
Lenovo dropped to the No. 2 position in the fourth quarter of 2012, but
it experienced the best growth rate (8.2 percent) among the top five PC
vendors worldwide. Lenovo’s growth exceeded regional growth rates in
North America, EMEA and Asia/Pacific, but lower than the industry
average in Latin America and Japan. In North America, Lenovo performed
well by expanding in the retail market and protecting professional
market.
In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 17.5 million units in the fourth
quarter of 2012, a 2.1 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2011
(see Table 2). Due to the tight inventory control and preparation for
the Windows 8 launch, most PC vendors were able to ship Windows 8 PCs to
the retail space. However, PC sell-through was rather weak which leaves
some level of inventory concerns for vendors in the consumer market.
“Consumer’s holiday spending went into other products and services, and
U.S. holiday sales became less important for PC sales. For
professionals, the fourth quarter is typically a good sales season
because of last minutes PC purchases before the tax year-end. Our early
research indicates that there was good growth in professional PC sales,”
Ms. Kitagawa said.
Table 2
|
Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q12
(Units)
|
Company
|
|
4Q12 Shipments
|
|
4Q12 Market Share (%)
|
|
4Q11 Shipments
|
|
4Q11 Market Share (%)
|
|
4Q12-4Q11 Growth (%)
|
HP
|
|
4,657,123
|
|
26.6
|
|
4,137,788
|
|
23.1
|
|
12.6
|
Dell
|
|
3,355,152
|
|
19.2
|
|
4,020,549
|
|
22.5
|
|
-16.5
|
Apple
|
|
2,145,082
|
|
12.3
|
|
2,035,082
|
|
11.4
|
|
5.4
|
Lenovo
|
|
1,476,606
|
|
8.4
|
|
1,345,975
|
|
7.5
|
|
9.7
|
Acer Group
|
|
1,377,824
|
|
7.9
|
|
1,756,838
|
|
9.8
|
|
-21.6
|
Others
|
|
4,493,820
|
|
25.7
|
|
5,637,726
|
|
25.6
|
|
-2.0
|
Total
|
|
17,505,607
|
|
100.0
|
|
17,881,424
|
|
100.0
|
|
-2.1
|
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs, including
mini-notebooks but not media tablets such as the iPad. Data
is based on the shipments selling into channels.
|
Source: Gartner (January 2013)
|
|
PC shipments in EMEA totaled 28.1 million units in the fourth quarter of
2012, a 9.6 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2011 (see Table
3). Western Europe remained the weak point across EMEA, as Central and
Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa saw growth
quarter-on-quarter.
“The PC market continues to face many headwinds. The launch of Windows 8
had no impact on PC demand, especially as Ultramobile products were both
limited in supply, as well as being priced too high,” said Ranjit Atwal,
research director at Gartner. “The holiday season mostly saw retailers
clearing Windows 7 notebook inventory or driving volume of low-end
notebooks. Furthermore, the increasing choice of tablets at decreasing
price points no doubt became a favorite Christmas present ahead of PCs.”
“In the fourth quarter of 2012, mobile PC shipments decreased 11 percent
while desktop PC shipments declined 6 percent year-on-year,” said
Isabelle Durand, principal research analyst at Gartner. “However,
all-in-one form factor models from Asus, Lenovo and HP look like a
promising platform for the future.”
HP retained the No. 1 position in the fourth quarter of 2012, thanks to
good results across all products in the professional PC segment. Dell
performed weakly, losing nearly 2 percent share in the fourth quarter of
2012. Among the top five vendors, only Lenovo showed year-on-year growth
and its strong performance in the quarter helped it displace Acer from
the No. 2 position.
In the second half of 2012, the EMEA PC market experienced two
consecutive quarters of decline, resulting in overall shipments for 2012
declining 2.8 percent from 2011. Western Europe lost another 10 percent
of volume, indicating likely structural changes to the market rather
than weak demand.
Table 3
|
Preliminary EMEA PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q12
(Units)
|
Company
|
|
4Q12 Shipments
|
|
4Q12 Market Share (%)
|
|
4Q11 Shipments
|
|
4Q11 Market Share (%)
|
|
4Q12-4Q11 Growth (%)
|
HP
|
|
5,346,900
|
|
19.1
|
|
5,829,182
|
|
18.8
|
|
-8.3
|
Lenovo
|
|
3,087,629
|
|
11.0
|
|
2,386,877
|
|
7.7
|
|
29.4
|
Acer Group
|
|
3,015,318
|
|
10.7
|
|
3,532,612
|
|
11.4
|
|
-14.6
|
ASUS
|
|
2,794,279
|
|
10.0
|
|
3,233,350
|
|
10.4
|
|
-13.6
|
Dell
|
|
2,351,990
|
|
8.4
|
|
3,176,724
|
|
10.2
|
|
-26.0
|
Others
|
|
11,458,059
|
|
40.8
|
|
12,887,932
|
|
41.5
|
|
-11.1
|
Total
|
|
28,054,175
|
|
100.0
|
|
31,046,677
|
|
100.0
|
|
-9.6
|
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs, including
mini-notebooks but not media tablets such as the iPad. Data
is based on the shipments selling into channels.
|
Source: Gartner (January 2013)
|
|
PC shipments in Asia/Pacific totaled 29.9 million units in the fourth
quarter of 2012, a 1.8 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2011.
Vendors struggled to offer compelling products to convince buyers to
upgrade and attract new buyers as consumers' interest continues to be on
smartphones and tablets. The introduction of Windows 8 met with lukewarm
response and availability was primarily on the higher-end models, which
were priced beyond the mainstream price point for volume sales.
For the year, PC shipments were 352.7 million units, a 3.5 percent
decline from 2011 (see Table 4). HP retained the top spot in the global
PC market, accounting for 16 percent of the market. Lenovo was the No. 2
vendor with 14.8 percent market share. Asus showed the strongest growth
among the top five vendors, with shipments increasing 17.1 percent.
Table 4
|
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for
2012 (Units)
|
Company
|
|
2012 Shipments
|
|
2012 Market Share (%)
|
|
2011 Shipments
|
|
2011 Market Share (%)
|
|
2012-2011 Growth (%)
|
HP
|
|
56,508,218
|
|
16.0
|
|
60,553,740
|
|
16.6
|
|
-6.7
|
Lenovo
|
|
52,159,229
|
|
14.8
|
|
45,688,493
|
|
12.5
|
|
14.2
|
Dell
|
|
37,611,747
|
|
10.7
|
|
42,864,265
|
|
11.7
|
|
-12.3
|
Acer Group
|
|
36,661,066
|
|
10.4
|
|
39,282,791
|
|
10.8
|
|
-6.7
|
ASUS
|
|
24,206,696
|
|
6.9
|
|
20,678,302
|
|
5.7
|
|
17.1
|
Others
|
|
145,554,478
|
|
41.3
|
|
156,278,584
|
|
42.8
|
|
-6.9
|
Total
|
|
352,701,433
|
|
100.0
|
|
365,364,175
|
|
100.0
|
|
-3.5
|
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs, including
mini-notebooks but not media tablets such as the iPad. Data
is based on the shipments selling into channels.
|
Source: Gartner (January 2013)
|
|
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon
to clients of Gartner's PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region
program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the
worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing
and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future
implications around the globe.
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