Global PC and tablet shipments may decline significantly this year and next

International electronic business intelligence news market research agency IDC recently pointed out in its updated global personal computing equipment market forecast report that the PC and tablet market is about to usher in a turbulent period, and it is expected that global PC shipments will fall by 12.8% to 305.3 million units in 2022, and tablet shipments will fall by 6.8% to 156.8 million units.

Inflation, a weak global economy and a surge in purchases over the past two years are the main reasons for the decline in the outlook.
Further contraction is expected in 2023 due to slower consumer demand, the need for education has been largely met, and business demand has been squeezed out due to deteriorating macroeconomic conditions. The combined market for PCs and tablets is expected to decline by 2.6% in 2023 before resuming growth in 2024.
Jitesh Ubrani, research manager at IDC Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, said: “Although demand is slowing, the outlook for shipments remains above pre-pandemic levels. As support for Windows 10 draws to a close, the economic recovery is slow and enterprise hardware updates will drive long-term demand. Education deployment and hybrid work are also expected to be the backbone to drive additional sales. ”
“As economic headwinds accelerate, we expect deteriorating consumer confidence to lead to further consumer market contraction over the next six quarters,” added Linn Huang, vice president of device and display research. “A timely economic recovery ahead of the next major renewal cycle is likely to drive some of the growth we are forecasting for the external years.” Although sales will not reach the peak of the pandemic, we expect the consumer market to move towards a higher end of the market. ”

Figure Note: Global PC projections by product category, shipments, year-over-year growth, and 2022-2026 CAGR (million shipments).
Concentrate:
1. Delivery includes delivery to distribution channels or end users.
2. Traditional PCs include desktops, laptops, and workstations, excluding tablets or x86 servers. Tablets include detachable tablets and Slate tablets that are part of a personal computer tracker.
3. The public sector refers to procurement by schools and governments.