Quarterly PC sales up for the first time in six years

Both IDC and Gartner concur that PC sales rose strongly in the second quarter

PC sales have registered their first quarterly rise in six years, according to both IDC and Gartner.

Both claim that while the consumer PC market remains moribund, businesses are undergoing a Windows 10-inspired refresh, driving the sales of the PC majors, in particular.

However, while Gartner pins the sales rise at 1.4 per cent in the second quarter of the year - the three months to the end of June - IDC has suggested that the market grew by a more robust 2.7 per cent.

Gartner claims that worldwide PC shipments totaled 62.1 million in the second quarter, up by 1.4 per cent on the same period in 2017. IDC, meanwhile, counted 62.3 million units, a rise of 2.7 per cent against forecast growth of 0.3 per cent.

"In the consumer space, the fundamental market structure, due to changes on PC user behaviour, still remains, and continues to impact market growth. Consumers are using their smartphones for even more daily tasks, such as checking social media, calendaring, banking and shopping, which is reducing the need for a consumer PC," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.

She continued: "In the business segment, PC momentum will weaken in two years when the replacement peak for Windows 10 passes. PC vendors should look for ways to maintain growth in the business market as the Windows 10 upgrade cycle tails off."

IDC noted that the second quarter of 2017 had been affected by component issues, which had flattened growth. It, too, noted that the business market was largely responsible for growth, benefiting the top-three producers, while the market continued to grow for both premium models and entry-level devices.

"Although traditional PCs may not be the default device for many usage scenarios, the market continues to show pockets of resiliency as PC usage experience evolves and improves," said Jay Chou, research manager with IDC's Personal Computing Device Tracker.

In EMEA, the traditional PC market experienced modest growth due to upgrades in the commercial sector, while desktop sales "played a strong role", according to IDC.

However, the two analyst groups were less sure whether HP Inc took top spot as the world's largest PC vendor or Lenovo.

IDC puts HP in top spot with market share of 23.9 per cent in the second quarter, followed by Lenovo with a market share of 22.1 per cent. Gartner, meanwhile, sees Lenovo ahead by a handful of sales, but both effectively tied at 21.9 per cent market share.

Dell comes in third, while Apple takes fourth and Acer fifth. Independent vendors, categorised under "other" suffered big market share falls, according to both Gartner and IDC.

Table: Gartner, preliminary worldwide PC vendor unit shipment estimates for 2Q18