Report: IDC Revises Down PC Shipments Estimates for 2013
Report: IDC Revises Down PC Shipments Estimates for 2013
Research firm IDC has revised down its PC shipments estimates for the year. Initially, the firm expected shipment levels to decline by 9.7%; however, this figure has been adjusted to 10.7%. According to IDC, this marks the most severe yearly contraction.
IDC also estimates weak worldwide PC shipment levels to persist even till 2017, with a 10.8% decline. Senior IDC analyst, Jay Chou, speculated the main reason for weak PC sales is the "lack of reasons to replace an older system." While IDC research still points to the desktop PC as the cornerstone for productivity tasks, it is slowly losing that role to smartphones and tablets as such devices are more affordable.
Despite the bleak outlook, IDC expects PC shipment levels to stabilize at around 300 million units, with the emergence of 2-in-1 Windows devices, which are expected to provide some shipment volume to PC vendors. These devices are projected to "account for 10% of a combined PC & Windows Tablet market by 2016 – making them an important growth segment for the PC ecosystem." Please click here for the official press release from IDC.
(Source: IDC via Seeking Alpha)