Worldwide PC and tablet shipments forecast to decline in 2022 and 2023
The International Data Corporation (IDC) has forecast that global shipments of PCs and tablets will decline during 2022 and 2023 amid challenging market conditions. Despite this, the IDC says that the outlook for shipments remains higher than pre-pandemic levels and that it expects growth to return in 2024.
In its Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, the IDC has forecast that worldwide shipments of traditional PCs will decline by 12.8 per cent to 305.3 million units during 2022 and that global shipments of tablets will fall by 6.8 per cent to 156.8 million units.
The IDC cites factors including the weakening global economy, a surge in buying during the past two years and rising inflation for the expected downturn in worldwide PC and tablet shipments this year.
Furthermore, it adds that headwinds including slowing consumer demand, fulfilled demand in the education sector and weakening enterprise demand amid worsening macroeconomic conditions will see shipments decline further next year. The IDC has forecast that combined worldwide shipments of PCs and tablets will fall 2.6 per cent next year, but adds that growth is expected to return in 2024.
Jitesh Ubrani, Research Manager for IDC Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, said: "Though demand is slowing, the outlook for shipments remains above pre-pandemic levels. Long-term demand will be driven by a slow economic recovery combined with an enterprise hardware refresh as support for Windows 10 nears its end. Educational deployments and hybrid work are also expected to become a mainstay driving additional volumes."
Linn Huang, Research Vice President, Devices & Displays, added: "With economic headwinds gaining speed, we expect worsening consumer sentiment to result in further consumer market contractions over the next six quarters. Economic recovery in time for the next major refresh cycle could propel some growth in the outer years of our forecast. Though volumes won't hit pandemic peaks, we expect the consumer market to drive towards more premium ends of the market."
