Despite huge drop in Q1 2020, global PC shipment rises by 2.8% in Q2 amid Covid-19

 

By Juliet Umeh

Although global personal computer, PC shipment in the first quarter of 2020 dropped to 12.3 percent due to supply disruption caused by the outbreak of coronavirus, COVID-19 but the second quarter has seen it rise by 2.8 percent.

This is according to a latest report by a global research and advisory firm that provides information, advice, and tools for leaders in IT, Gartner Inc.

The firm’s report said that worldwide market for PC in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, EMEA returned to growth due to strong mobile PC demand and recovery from COVID-19-related supply chain disruptions.

It said: “Worldwide PC shipments totaled 64.8 million units in the second quarter of 2020, a 2.8 percent increase from the second quarter of 2019, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.

Research Director at the organisation, Mikako Kitagawa, said that “after the PC supply chain was severely disrupted in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the growth this quarter was due to distributors and retail channels restocking their supplies back to near-normal levels.”

Kitagawa said: “Additionally, mobile PC growth was particularly strong, driven by several factors including business continuity for remote working, online education and consumers’ entertainment needs.

“However, this uptick in mobile PC demand will not continue beyond 2020, as shipments were mainly boosted by short-term business needs due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kitagawa said.

Also, in the second quarter of 2020, Lenovo and HP shared the number one position in the worldwide PC market, owing to HP’s strong growth in the quarter. They accounted for half of PC shipments in the second quarter of 2020, up from 46.6% in the second quarter of 2019

Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q20 (Thousands of Units)

Company

2Q20 Shipments

2Q20 Market Share (%)

2Q19 Shipments

2Q19 Market Share (%)

2Q20-2Q19 Growth (%)

Lenovo

16,197

25.0

15,541

24.7

4.2

HP Inc.

16,165

24.9

13,810

21.9

17.1

Dell

10,648

16.4

10,680

16.9

-0.3

Apple

4,368

6.7

4,157

6.6

5.1

Acer Group

4,007

6.2

3,241

5.1

23.6

ASUS

3,593

5.5

2,960

4.7

21.4

Others

9,829

15.2

12,658

20.1

-22.4

Total

64,808

100.0

63,047

100.0

2.8

According to the report, Lenovo maintained its number one position in the worldwide PC market alongside HP, with 4.2 percent year over year growth in worldwide shipments. This was the result of strong double-digit growth in EMEA and over 50 percent growth in mobile PC shipments.

It said: “After a significant decline in the first quarter of 2020 due to supply chain constraints, HP recorded strong year over year growth in the second quarter as it recovered from those supply chain issues. HP showed particularly strong growth in EMEA and the U.S., brought on by healthy consumer demand for PCs.

“Dell’s worldwide shipments declined slightly in the second quarter of 2020, representing its first year over year decline since the first quarter of 2016. Dell’s shipments grew in EMEA and Japan but declined in all other regions, with the steepest drop in Latin America (20 percent). In many regions, Dell’s mobile PCs showed double digit growth, which was offset by a significant decline in shipments of desk-based PCs,” the report explained.