PC market recorded its biggest quarterly decline in 9 years

Personal computer (PC) sales recorded a 12.6% decline in the April to June 2022 period compared to the same period last year. This was the largest quarterly decline in nine years, according to market research firm Gartner.

In the second quarter of this year, 72 million units (desktop computers, laptops and workstations) were sold globally. Part of the decline was due to the decline in popularity of Chromebooks, laptops with Google-developed Chrome OS.

“The decline we saw in the first quarter of 2022 accelerated in the second quarter, driven by geopolitical instability generated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, inflationary pressure on spending, and a steep drop in demand for Chromebooks,” explains Mikako Kitagawa, a Gartner representative.

Inflation in many countries has reached levels not seen in decades.

Moreover, the supply chain problems that arose during the pandemic continued.

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The only manufacturer to see an increase in shipments in the second quarter of this year was Apple. Sales were up 9.3% compared to the April-June period of 2021. At the opposite end of the spectrum was HP, which saw the largest decline in shipments, down 27.5%.

Industry leader Lenovo shipped 12.5% fewer devices.

The region most affected by the decline was EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Here, shipments fell 18%. Sales of laptops declined even more, by 20%.

The US market also saw a 17.5% decline.

The declines come after a modest 2021 for the PC industry. Sales rose just 2% compared to 2020.