Framingham, Mass. — IDC has updated its PC shipment forecast, calling for an even greater falloff than originally predicted.
IDC now expects PC shipments to plummet 7.8 percent this year, compared with the 1.3 percent drop originally forecast. This will equate to 321.9 million computers, both mobile and desktop, shipping this year. IDC is calling for shipments to pick up in 2014 when 333 million ship. However, this is still far off the pace of 349 million shipped in 2012 and that of the peak year of 2011 when 363 million shipped.
The culprits being blamed for the falloff are smartphones and tablets, said Loren Loverde, IDC’s program VP, worldwide quarterly PC trackers.
“Many users are realizing that everyday computing, such as accessing the web, connecting to social media, sending emails, as well as using a variety of apps, doesn’t require a lot of computing power or local storage,” he said, “Instead, they are putting a premium on access from a variety of smaller devices with longer battery life, an instant-on function and intuitive touch-centric interfaces.”
Also putting a crimp in PC sales is consumer usage behavior. Loverde said people have not given up on computers, but since they use them less frequently they are making do with older systems. Also, many people, mainly at small companies, now use the same computer for home and work and this means many corporate purchases will not happen this year.
On the plus side, IDC analysts see an uptick in shipments as ultra-thin and touchscreen computers become more popular.
