PC deliveries fell 8% in Q1 2020 due to coronavirus
The PC market shrank by eight percent during the past quarter compared to the same period in 2019. That is what market analyst Canalys reports. That is the largest contraction in four years. The decrease in deliveries is largely due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The amount of computers delivered, including desktops, laptops and workstations, fell by eight percent in the first quarter of 2020, according to Canalys. According to the market analyst, this is due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. For example, much computer hardware is produced in China, the epicenter of the outbreak, which forced many factories to close. Partly because of this, there was a shortage of PC hardware.
The production shortage at Intel, caused by problems with the 10nm process, is also cited as a reason for the contraction. AMD did well, according to Canalys. “More consumers and businesses are accepting AMD as an alternative to Intel.”
Images via Canalys
Apple, in particular, was hit hard by the decline in PC shipments. The tech company shipped 3.2 million computers in the quarter, a drop of more than 20 percent from the same period in 2019. Lenovo shipped the most computers in the quarter with more than 12.8 million units. That is a decrease of about 4.4 percent. HP followed with 11.7 million computers. That is 13.8 percent less than in the first quarter of 2019. Only Dell noticed a growth in the number of deliveries. The company’s shipments increased 1.1 percent to approximately 10.5 million computers.
Simultaneously with the decline in deliveries, the demand for computer hardware grew. This is probably because many people are forced to work or study from home. For example, network equipment and peripherals such as monitors, webcams, headphones and printers performed well in the past quarter. Demand for software, including office suites, also increased.
Canalys further suspects that the increased demand for computer hardware will not continue for the rest of the year. This is because, according to Canalys, few companies will invest in new PC hardware, and consumers have probably already upgraded their hardware for the first work-from-home period. In addition, a recession has started due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus, which means that purchasing IT hardware will probably also be less of a priority for large companies and governments.
Image via Canalys