IDC: Q2 2016 Remains "Muted" for European PCs

Print

IDC reports EMEA Q2 2016 PC shipments remain in state of "long-term market-erosion," particularly for traditional models, if with some hints of short-term recovery through notebooks and other mobile PCs.

However the industry remains further affected by a number of issues-- namely currency fluctuations, localised political developments in W. Europe and ongoing instabilities in the M. East, not to mention the ripple effect caused by Brexit.

IDC Q2 2016 PC

"Even the best case scenario calls for PCs to face significant challenges, with a somewhat fragile stabilisation in the long run. The preliminary results did not capture the potential repercussions from the Brexit vote, which is expected to affect the timing and scope of spending plans in Europe," the analyst remarks. "The better than expected Q2 2016 results should not be interpreted as a harbinger of significant improvements for PCs."

On a global level the PC industry shows some forecast-beating improvement-- Q2 2016 shipments are down by -4.5% Y-o-Y to 62.4 million units, beating IDC predictions of decline reaching -7.4% Y-o-Y. Helping such results is the US, where inventory level improvements and the end of free Windows 10 upgrades have encouraged customers to buy new PCs instead of updating older ones.

"The PC market continues to struggle as we wait for replacements to accelerate, along with some return of spending from phones, tablets, and other IT," the analyst adds. "Our long-term outlook remains cautions. However, the strong results in the US offer a glimpse of what the market could look like with pockets of growth and a stronger overall environment. It's not dramatic growth, but it could push the market into positive territory slightly ahead of our forecast for 2018."

In vendor terms Lenovo remains on the global top despite shipment declines in territories outside the US. HP follows with a return to growth (5.1% Y-o-Y) after years of decline, as does 3rd placing Dell with shipments improving by 4% Y-o-Y.

Asus also manages to improve in Q2 2016, beating Apple to the 4th spot with shipments reaching 4.5m. On the other hand Apple sees the worst shipment decline of the top 5 (-8.3% Y-o-Y) due to a product lineup in need of a refresh.

Go IDC WW Quarterly PC Tracker Q2 2016