Worldwide PC Shipments Declines 7.7% in Third Quarter of 2015: Gartner

Higher prices due to US Dollar against local currencies slows PC sales; but analysts see some signs for future stabilization and growth

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 73.7 million units in the third quarter of 2015, a 7.7% decline from the third quarter of 2014, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. Desktop PCs continued to show weakness with a high-single-digit decline, while the segment that combines notebook PCs and premium ultramobiles (such as the MacBook Air and Microsoft Surface Pro) recorded a low-single-digit decline.

"The global PC market has experienced price increases of around 10% throughout the year, due to the sharp appreciation of the U.S. dollar against local currencies. In the third quarter of 2015, this continued to be a major cause for weaker demand in those regions," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "These impacted regions, which include EMEA, Japan and Latin America, posted double-digit declines in the third quarter. Asia/Pacific and the U.S. were more stable."

Windows 10 was launched in the third quarter of 2015, but it had a minimal impact on shipments in the quarter. Gartner analysts said the focus of the Windows launch in the quarter was to upgrade to Windows 10 on existing PCs, rather than ship on new PCs. The Windows 10 rollout will ramp up in 4Q15 holiday sales.

While 3Q15 results illustrated gloomy market conditions for the PC market, there is a positive aspect in the results. According to Gartner's 2015 personal technology survey, 50% of consumers expressed intention to purchase a PC in the next 12 months, compared with 21% for tablet purchase intention.

"This change in consumer preferences toward PCs was visible in the preliminary data, as we saw positive growth in U.S notebook and premium ultramobile shipments," Ms. Kitagawa said. "Soft recovery is expected to start in 4Q15, as Windows 10 product refreshes start to appear. In the meantime, PC manufacturers should adjust configurations for 2016 without the impact of price hikes seen in 2015, which will lead into more stable market conditions in the upcoming year."

Lenovo secured the top position in worldwide PC shipments, as its market share increased to 20.3%, despite a 4% decline in shipments in the third quarter of 2015 (see Table 1). EMEA and Japan were two challenging regions for Lenovo with double-digit declines, but they were offset by 22% growth in the U.S. Lenovo introduced a variety of hybrid laptops, both detachable and from a wide range of price points.

Table 1: Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q15 (Thousands of Units)Company 3Q15 Shipments Market Share (%) 3Q14 Shipments Market Share (%) 3Q15 Growth (%)Lenovo 14995 20.3 15623 19.6 -4.0HP 13658 18.5 14226 17.8 -4.0Dell 10160 13.8 10106 12.7 0.5Apple 5603 7.6 5521 6.9 1.5Acer Group 5448 7.4 6804 8.5 -19.9Asus 5233 7.1 5824 7.3 -10.1Others 18630 25.3 21737 27.2 -14.3Total 73728 100 79842 100 -7.7Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premium (see "Market Definitions and Methodology: Consumer Devices"). All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels.

In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 17 million units in the third quarter of 2015, a 1.3% increase from the same period last year (see Table 2). Similar to worldwide market trends, the U.S. market experienced growth in notebooks and premium ultramobiles, which was offset by desktop PC shipment declines.

HP maintained the top position in the U.S. market, accounting for 27.8% of PC shipments. Lenovo showed the strongest growth among the top five vendors in the U.S. market, as its PC shipments grew 22%, due to its strong hybrid growth.

Table 2: Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q15 (Thousands of Units)Company 3Q15 Shipments Market Share (%) 3Q14 Shipments Market Share (%) 3Q15 Growth (%)HP 4710 27.8 4615 27.6 2.1Dell 4098 24.2 3971 23.7 3.2Apple 2505 14.8 2336 13.9 7.3Lenovo 2120 12.5 1738 10.4 22.0Asus 769 4.5 958 5.7 -19.7Others 2759 16.3 3127 18.7 -11.8Total 16962 100 16745 100 1.3Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premium (see "Market Definitions and Methodology: Consumer Devices"). All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels.

Asia/Pacific PC shipments reached 26.3 million units in the third quarter of 2015, a 1.7% decline from the third quarter of 2014. Consumer spending continues to be cautious due to weak economies and currency fluctuations. Asia/Pacific mobile PC shipments grew 2.2% in the third quarter, while desk-based PC shipments declined 4.9%.

These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner's PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe.

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