Global PC shipments grew steadily in the second quarter of 2020, driven by the need for business continuity, at-home schooling and consumer entertainment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research from both International Data Corporation (IDC) and Gartner, Inc.
The traditional PC market, comprised of desktops, notebooks, and workstations, showed global shipments growing 11.2% year-over-year reaching a total of 72.3 million units, according to preliminary results from IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.
COVID-19 Spurs Rebound in Global PC Market
After a significant decline in the first quarter of 20290 due to COVID-19-related supply chain disruptions, the PC market bounced back as the cost and frequency of air and sea freight returned to normal, supply chains stabilized, vendors restocked their channels and mobile PC demand increased, according to Gartner, Inc.
"The strong demand driven by work-from-home as well as e-learning needs has surpassed previous expectations and has once again put the PC at the center of consumers' tech portfolio," said Jitesh Ubrani research manager for IDC's Mobile Device Trackers.
Lenovo, HP Top Worldwide PC Market
In the second quarter of 2020, Lenovo and HP shared the number one position in the worldwide PC market, owing to 4.2% year-over-year growth in worldwide shipments. This was the result of strong double-digit growth in EMEA and over 50% growth in mobile PC shipments.
Together, the two vendors accounted for half of worldwide PC shipments in the second quarter of 2020, up from 46.6% in the second quarter of 2019, according to Gartner. Dell held 16.4% global market share while Apple held 6.7% global market share, according to Gartner.
HP, Dell, Lenovo led U.S. PC Market
HP secured the top spot in the U.S. PC market based on shipments, taking nearly 33% of PC market share, while Dell took the number two position with 26.1% market share. Lenovo held 15.6% U.S. market share and Apple held 13% market share in 2Q20, Gartner research showed.
But this surge should not be mistaken for a total recovery; the uptick in demand will be short-lived, Gartner believes.
“The second quarter of 2020 represented a short-term recovery for the worldwide PC market,” said Mikako Kitagawa, research director at Gartner. “After the PC supply chain was severely disrupted in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the growth this quarter was due to distributors and retail channels restocking their supplies back to near-normal levels.”
Additionally, Kitagawa said, strong mobile PC growth was driven by business continuity for remote working, online education and consumers’ entertainment needs, which should abate in the long term.
“This uptick in mobile PC demand will not continue beyond 2020, as shipments were mainly boosted by short-term business needs due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kitagawa said.
