The PC industry is going through a bad time. The sales of computers in the world have suffered a decrease of 29% in the first quarter of this year, falling to 56.9 million units. It is the worst result in the last ten years for this period of the year, with the exception of the first quarter of 2020, when sales fell to 54.5 million due to confinement at the start of the pandemic, according to data that the consultancy has provided to La Vanguardia. “Consumer demand is weak. The sector has left behind the boom that it experienced due to the pandemic and is returning to behaviors prior to the health crisis," company sources point out. Far are the results of the first quarter of 2021, when the industry recorded a record of 85 million units sold, or the figures for the year 2013, with 76 million computers sold.
Alberto Ruano, general director of Lenovo in Spain, confirms this situation. "Consumer demand has slowed down and we expect it to resume in the second half of this year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels," the manager of the Chinese group told this newspaper.
By brands, Lenovo has held out as the industry leader worldwide, although it has suffered a -30% decline, as the chart shows. The most pronounced fall has been carried out by Apple (-40.5%) manufacturer of the iconic Mac, one of the highest-end computers that can be found on the market.
The technology industry, like other sectors, is also suffering from the crisis in demand caused by inflation and the rise in interest rates. In fact, the drop in computer sales began to decline at the beginning of 2022, with double-digit quarterly falls in all four periods, although it is also true that the industry started with record results in 2021. It is a situation that is also experiencing the sister industry of the smartphone, which suffers in the same way from the unfavorable macroeconomic situation.
IDC points out that because of this situation, the stock of computers is accumulating above the desired levels (from 4 to 6 weeks until the final sale), a fact that causes the release of new computers to slow down and be less profitable. "Even with strong discount policies, manufacturers' and distributors' inventories will continue to be high in the second and third quarters of the year," predicts Jitesh Ubrani, an analyst at IDC.
The consultant does not forecast growth until next year. “In 2024, there will be more customers that need a replacement, especially schools and companies that want to operate with Windows 11. Although everything will depend on macroeconomic developments. If it goes up, the industry will grow but if key markets are in recession, then the recovery will be tougher, ”says IDC.
