Gartner: PC sales are now falling for eight quarters in a row

Global PC sales fell 5.7 percent in the third quarter of 2016 from the same quarter last year. That’s what analysts at research firm Gartner say. The figures are now eight quarters in a row in a decline compared to previous years.

Gartner says these are preliminary figures, but the agency clearly has enough faith in the figures to make a publication about it. The decline in sales has lasted longer than any other decline in PC history. In total, 68.9 million PCs were sold in the months of July, August and September, according to the agency. The problem would lie with weak demand from school and college students who have just started a new year, and also weak demand in new markets like India.

In addition, the longer lifespan of the PC would have a negative effect on the computer market. Nowadays, this is also accompanied by the fact that consumers use different devices, such as smartphones and tablets, on a daily basis, so that buying a new PC would be less of a priority.

Furthermore, Gartner says that the market continues to consolidate; 78 percent of all PC sales would come from the six largest manufacturers: Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, Apple and Acer. Of those six, Lenovo is still the leader, but HP is not far behind. In the third quarter of 2016, Lenovo accounted for 20.9 percent of PC sales and HP 20.4 percent. Compared to the third quarter of 2015, shipments from HP, Dell and Asus increased while the other three declined.

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, sales fell less sharply than globally. This is a decrease of 3.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Sales totaled 19.2 million devices. In Asia the decline was 7.6 percent and in the US there was a decline of only 0.3 percent.

Other recent figures from the same research firm show that sales of smartphones, which are among the biggest competitors to PCs today, are still growing, but that growth is expected to slow down into the single digits.