PC deliveries fall for sixth consecutive quarter

Global PC shipments fell again in the first quarter of 2016, according to surveys by two research companies Gartner and IDC. The first agency assumes a decline of 9.6 percent, IDC speaks of a decline of 11.5 percent.

The decline in PC shipments in the first quarter of 2016 from a year earlier was 9.6 percent, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of contraction, Gartner calculated. The amount of systems delivered was less than 65 million and it was the first time since 2007 that deliveries fell below that number.

The research firm cites the strong dollar and the deteriorating economic situation in Brazil as the reason for the decline, while in emerging markets the smartphone has supplanted the PC as the main tech purchase. Gartner expects that the switch from the business market to Windows 10 could cause a revival at the end of 2016. Companies always wait to switch until a new version of Windows has been out for a while and the teething problems are gone. This is often accompanied by the purchase of new systems, but not always.

IDC arrives at a total of 60 million PCs delivered in the first three months of 2016. This research firm also mentions South America as a continent where demand was low, along with the US. In Europe, Middle East and Asia, demand was higher than expected. IDC expects the situation to improve in the coming months as businesses and educational institutions resume investing in new PCs and begin the transition to Windows 10.

By PCs, the desks mean desktops as well as laptops and 2-in-1 PCs. The numbers from both IDC and Gartner are a rough indication of PC deliveries. Both agencies also list the market shares of the manufacturers every quarter, but these differ between the two studies.