Worldwide PC sales are enjoying a resurgence

A survey by research firm, Gartner Inc., has found that worldwide PC shipments on the rise after a decline due to COVID-19 related supply chain disruptions. 

In the study, we learned that worldwide PC shipments totalled 64.8 million units in the second quarter of 2020. That's a 2.8 percent increase from the second quarter of 2019. Crucially, there was a significant decline in the first quarter of the year due to the aforementioned supply chain disruptions so this is a decent recovery for the industry. 

Mikako Kitagawa, research director at Gartner, explained that 'some of the growth this quarter was due to distributors and retail channels restocking their supplies back to near-normal levels.' She continued by explaining how mobile PC growth was particularly strong, 'driven by several factors including business continuity for remote working, online education and consumers' entertainment needs.' However, the firm doesn't expect mobile PC demand to continue to grow beyond 2020 with this boost solely considered to be to facilitate short-term business needs during the pandemic.

And who are the winners in this, you ask? HP and Lenovo shared the top spot in the worldwide PC market, accounting for half of PC shipments in the second quarter of 2020. That's up from 46.6 percent in the second quarter of 2019. These figures include all desk-based PCs, notebook PCs, and ultra mobile devices like the Microsoft Surface, but they omit figures for Chromebooks and iPads. 

While HP and Lenovo performed well, Dell's worldwide shipments declined slightly this past quarter, with its first year over year decline since the first quarter of 2016. Granted, its shipments grew in EMEA and Japan but a substantial drop of 20 percent in Latin America means it hasn't been so good worldwide for the firm. 

For the EMEA region, PC shipments grew by 20 percent, representing the strongest growth in the region in over 10 years. That's primarily attributed to the growth in remote work and online education, along with increased vendor supply to make up for the depletion to stock levels during the first quarter of the year. 

Overall, it's a fascinating time for the industry as we all appear to be adapting to a new 'normal'. While it seems likely such growth figures aren't sustainable, it's certainly going to shake up the industry for a while to come.