Gartner Says 2016 Marked Fifth Consecutive Year of Worldwide PC Shipment Decline

PC Industry Ended the Year with 3.7 Percent Decline in 4Q16
Shipments

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Worldwide PC shipments totaled 72.6 million units in the fourth quarter
of 2016, a 3.7 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2015,
according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. For the year, 2016 PC
shipments totaled 269.7 million units, a 6.2 percent decline from 2015.
PC shipments have declined annually since 2012.

“Stagnation in the PC market continued into the fourth quarter of 2016
as holiday sales were generally weak due to the fundamental change in PC
buying behavior,” said Mikako
Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “The broad PC market has
been static as technology improvements have not been sufficient to drive
real market growth. There have been innovative form factors like 2-in-1s
and thin and light notebooks, as well as technology improvements, such
as longer battery life. This end of the market has grown fast, led by
engaged PC users who put high priority on PCs. However, the market
driven by PC enthusiasts is not big enough to drive overall market
growth.”

“There is the other side of the PC market, where PCs are infrequently
used. Consumers in this segment have high dependency on smartphones, so
they stretch PC life cycles longer. This side of the market is much
bigger than the PC enthusiast segment; thus, steep declines in the
infrequent PC user market offset the fast growth of the PC enthusiast
market.”

Ms. Kitagawa said that although the overall PC market will see
stagnation, there are growth opportunities within the market, such as
the engaged PC user market, the business market and gaming. However,
these growth areas will not prevent the overall decline of the PC
market, at least in the next year.

Four of the top six vendors experienced an increase in worldwide PC
shipments in the fourth quarter of 2016 (see Table 1). The top three
vendors all increased their global market share in the fourth quarter.
Lenovo maintained the No. 1 position, as the company experienced
shipment increases in North America and EMEA, while Asia/Pacific and
Japan continued to be challenging markets.

Table 1

Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q16 (Thousands of Units)
Company		4Q16 Shipments		4Q16 Market Share (%)		4Q15 Shipments		4Q15 Market Share (%)		4Q16-4Q15 Growth (%)
Lenovo		15,781		21.7		15,535		20.6		1.6
HP Inc.		14,808		20.4		14,204		18.8		4.3
Dell		10,723		14.8		10,175		13.5		5.4
Asus		5,452		7.5		5,960		7.9		-8.5
Apple		5,440		7.5		5,312		7.0		2.4
Acer Group		4,999		6.9		5,228		6.9		-4.4
Others		15,408		21.2		18,970		25.2		-18.8
Total		72,611		100.0		75,384		100.0		-3.7

Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels.

Source: Gartner (January 2017)

HP remained in the second position, and it has recorded three
consecutive quarters of shipment growth. HP secured the top position in
PC shipments in the U.S. and EMEA, growing faster than the regional
averages.

Dell also registered three consecutive quarters of shipment growth in
4Q16. Dell continued to place PCs as a strategic business segment in
commercial and consumer markets during 2016. Asus suffered the steepest
decline among the top six vendors in the fourth quarter of 2016. Asus
has been shifting its PC strategy more toward the high-end market, which
will allow it to maintain better profit margins. Gartner analysts said
the falling shipment volume could be the cause of this strategy shift.

In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 16.5 million units in the fourth
quarter of 2016, a 1.3 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2015
(see Table 2). Five of the top six vendors in the U.S. PC market
experienced a shipment increase in the fourth quarter of 2016. However,
this was offset by a 20.9 percent decline in the Others category, and a
48.3 percent decline in shipments by Asus.

“Similar to low-key back to school sales in 3Q16, big sales events, such
as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and holiday sales are no longer effective
marketing opportunities for PCs since PC purchases are generally driven
by a ‘need,’ rather than ‘want,’ motivation,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “PCs
are not a preferred gift item any longer, as consumers gravitate toward
other consumer electronics, such as virtual personal assistant (VPA)
speakers, virtual reality (VR) head-mounted devices, and wearables.
Vendors and channels did not have high expectations for the holiday PC
sales, so the marketing campaigns remained relatively quiet.”

Table 2

Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q16 (Thousands of Units)
Company		4Q16 Shipments		4Q16 Market Share (%)		4Q15 Shipments		4Q15 Market Share (%)		4Q16-4Q15 Growth (%)
HP Inc.		4,945		29.9		4,577		27.3		8.0
Dell		4,157		25.2		4,081		24.4		1.9
Lenovo		2,282		13.8		2,105		12.6		8.4
Apple		2,111		12.8		1,984		11.8		6.4
Acer Group		662		4.0		596		3.6		11.2
Asus		621		3.8		1,201		7.2		-48.3
Others		1,740		10.5		2,199		13.1		-20.9
Total		16,518		100.0		16,743		100.0		-1.3

Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels.

Source: Gartner (January 2017)

PC shipments in EMEA surpassed 21.9 million units in the fourth quarter
of 2016, a 3.4 percent decline year over year. PC shipments to the
consumer market were driven by good Black Friday sales in Western
European countries, such as the U.K. and France, especially on
traditional notebooks, ultramobile clamshells, the hybrid form factor
and gaming PCs. Gartner’s early estimates also show PC shipment growth
in the business segment, led by Windows 10 deployments during the fourth
quarter.

The Asia/Pacific PC market totaled 24.8 million units in the fourth
quarter of 2016, a 3.9 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2015.
The PC market was affected by two major events. First, the
demonetization of the Indian currency in India led to
weaker-than-expected consumer PC demand. Second, the success of China’s
11.11 (Singles Day on 11 November) online shopping event gave a boost to
consumer notebook sales.

For the year, worldwide PC shipments totaled 269.7 million units in 2016
(see Table 3). 2016 shipment totals were at the same levels as shipments
in 2007. Market consolidation escalated in 2016 as the top three vendors
(Lenovo, HP and Dell) accounted for 54.7 percent of worldwide PC
shipments in 2016, up from 51.5 percent in 2015.

Table 3

Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2016 (Thousands of Units)
Company		2016 Shipments		2016 Market Share (%)		2015 Shipments		2015 Market Share (%)		2016-2015 Growth (%)
Lenovo		55,888		20.7		57,274		19.9		-2.4
HP Inc.		52,458		19.4		52,548		18.3		-0.2
Dell		39,378		14.6		38,371		13.3		2.6
Asus		20,613		7.6		21,157		7.4		-2.6
Apple		18,612		6.9		20,377		7.1		-8.7
Acer Group		18,276		6.8		20,291		7.1		-9.9
Others		64,492		23.9		77,657		27.0		-17.0
Total		269,717		100.0		287,675		100.0		-6.2

Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels.

Source: Gartner (January 2017)

These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon
to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region
program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the
worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing
and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future
implications around the globe.

About Gartner

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Contacts

Gartner
Christy Pettey, +1-408-709-8220
christy.pettey@gartner.com